Denis Shapovalov, 16, and Tim Van Rijthoven, 18, both continued their stellar campaigns at the Drummondville Challenger, as both won their quarter-finals. Both will face British players in the semi-finals.
Denis Shapovalov was leading in the first set tiebreak against fifth seed Renzo Olivo when the Argentinian retired with injury. Shapovalov had led by a break but the world no.167 broke back as the young Canadian served for the set. Olivo seemed in discomfort though, and retired shortly after handing Shapovalov the advantage in the tie break.
Tim Van Rijthoven joined Shapovalov in the semi-finals, as he completed his third straight comeback victory of the week, as he defeated the resurgent Peter Polansky 4-6, 7-5, 6-1. A second break late in the second set was enough for the young Dutch star to edge the set, and he then pulled away in the third, breaking twice for the win.
There has already been one all-British Challenger final this season, with Kyle Edmund defeating Dan Evans in Dallas It was the first all-British Challenger final in more than a decade, yet a mere matter of weeks later the prospect of a another final is on the horizon. Only this time the final would not feature Kyle Edmund. Edward Corrie has been a revelation this week. Entering the tournament as a lucky loser, Corrie dismissed Deiton Baughman, and Mitchell Krueger in straight sets. He today added Frank Dancevic, a former Montreal Masters quarter-finalist, to that list, beating the Canadian 6-3, 6-4.
Dan Evans is once again the other half of that potential all-British final, as he defeated Philip Bester 6-3, 7-6 in one hour and fifteen minutes.
Semi-final line-up:
Edward Corrie vs Tim Van Rijthoven
Dan Evans vs Denis Shapovalov
