Auger-Aliassime in Stuttgart semifinals, Shapovalov out

One upand-coming Canadian tennis player edged into the semifinals of the Stuttgart Open on Friday but another fell short.

Felix Auger-Aliassime needed two tiebreaks to beat Ugo Humbert of France, 7-6 (5), 7-6 (8).

Canada’s Auger-Aliassime failed to convert three match points in the second-set tiebreak and had to save set point twice before winning three straight points to seal the quarterfinal victory.

That set up a semifinal for Auger-Aliassime against Sam Querrey of the United States, who recovered from one set down to beat fastclimbing Swiss 18-year-old Dominic Stricker, 6-7 (4), 7-6 (4), 6-3.

Top-ranked Canadian Denis Shapovalov lost another close match, 7-5, 7-6 (3), against veteran former U.S. Open champion Marin Cilic.

It was always likely to be a tough match for Shapovalov because he was playing for the second time on Friday after ousting Feliciano Lopez, 6-2, 6-7 (2), 6-3, in the finish of a second-round match that was delayed from Thursday because of rain.

Cilic’s semifinal opponent is going to be Austrian Jurij Rodionov, who upset fourth-seeded Australian Alex de Minaur, 3-6, 6-3, 7-6 (4).