Tennis Canada – Arvidsson and Nielsen crowned doubles champions

Sherbrooke, March 10, 2017 – Felix Auger-Aliassime (Montreal, QC), Denis Shapovalov (Richmond Hill, ON) and Brayden Schnur (Pickering, ON) advanced to the semifinals at the Subaru Sherbrooke Futures presented by Énergie 106,1. Sanctioned by the International Tennis Federation (ITF), the tournament, which offers $25, 000 U.S. in total prize money, will be held from March 4-12, 2017 at the Christian Bourque indoor tennis courts of the Rock Forest Recreation Centre in Sherbrooke.

Felix Auger-Aliassime had the toughest quarter-final draw, facing the tournament’s top seed Edward Corrie of Great Britain. In a tight first set, Auger-Aliassime relied on his strong service game to get him past his resilient opponent, tallying 10 of his 15 aces in the first. After a lengthy tiebreak, the Brit seemed rejuvenated and took the second set. In the decisive third set, the Canadian broke his opponent early and never looked back, winning the match 7-6(10), 3-6, 6-1 in a little over two hours.

The tournament’s second seed Denis Shapovalov cruised through his quarter-final match against the Frenchman Laurent Lokoli, the fifth seed. The Canadian not only relied on his effective serve, tallying four aces in the match, he was also strong on his returns. In a match that lasted under an hour, Shapovalov moved past his opponent in identical sets 6-4, 6-4. In a rematch of last week’s final at the Gatineau Futures, the Canadian will face Gleb Sakharov of France at 2 p.m. on Saturday.

Brayden Schnur was also in action on Friday, where he took on the tournament’s fourth seed Gregoire Barrere, of France. The Canadian began the match on a strong note, breaking his opponent and then firing three aces to hold serve. After closing out the first set in 16 minutes, Schnur continued his strong play in the second, relying on his effective serve. The match ended in under an hour, with the Canadian firing an impressive total of 13 aces, winning 6-1, 6-3. He will face compatriot Auger-Aliassime in the semi-final on Saturday at noon.

Friday also played host to the doubles final, which featured the tournament’s fourth seeds, Mikelis Libietis of Latvia and Hugo Nys of France, taking on the top seeds, Isak Arvidsson of Sweden and Frederik Nielsen of Denmark. The tournament favorites jumped out to a quick lead, breaking their opponents early and taking the first set. They continued their dominant play in the second set, eventually capturing the doubles title with a 6-0, 6-4 win.

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Information:
Valérie Tétreault
Tennis Canada
514-519-1606

For photos:
Victoria Jaklin
Tennis Canada
vjaklin@tenniscanada.com