It was just two weeks ago in Indian Wells where another Canadian teenager, Bianca Andreescu, won the women’s title. Can Denis Shapovalov or Felix Auger Aliassime replicate that feat? The women’s doubles semifinals will also be played on Friday, with two very different matchups. One features two of the top eight teams in the world, while the other four of the top singles players in the world. And as an added bonus, the men’s double semifinals were rained out yesterday, and have been added to Friday’s Order of Play. Today’s doubles matches include some singles players you rarely see in the doubles draws.
Roger Federer (4) vs. Denis Shapovalov (20)
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This will be the first career meeting between the 20-time Major champion and the teen sensation nearly half his age. It certainly won’t be the first time Federer will look across the net and see a lefty with a crushing forehand. Roger has won with more ease in each match as he’s progressed through this draw. Shapovalov has faced a trickier draw, and a tougher time advancing to this semifinal. As Steph Trudel highlighted on Twitter, Denis has three times had to come back from a set down over the past week. The 19-year-old is not new to playing a Masters 1,000 semifinal, as this is his third time competing on this stage. Of course the tennis world was first introduced to him in the summer of 2017, when he upset Juan Martin Del Potro and Rafael Nadal on his way to the Rogers Cup semifinal in his home country. And just last May in Madrid, he advanced to the semis on clay. On both of those occasions, he lost in the semifinals to Sascha Zverev. Facing a man with 100 career titles is not exactly an easy draw either. But Denis has a real shot at upsetting the living legend. He’s shown us before he does not shy away when on the court with all-time greats, and his aggressive style paired with his lefty strokes give him a legitimate chance. However, it’s hard not tip Federer as the favorite, especially given his 13 hard court wins over the past five weeks.
John Isner (7) vs. Felix Auger Aliassime (Q)
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The 2018 champion is on a 10-match winning streak in Miami, and now plays a newcomer to this stage of Masters 1,000 events who is 15 years his junior. As per the ATP, the 18-year-old Canadian is the youngest Miami Open semifinalist ever, and the third-youngest Masters 1,000 event semifinalist. He’s already won seven matches in Miami over the past two weeks, including two rounds of qualifying. Felix hasn’t dropped a set in his last three matches, two of which were victories over top 20 players. He’ll already move up 24 spots in the rankings with this semifinal appearance, and would move all the way into the top 20 with a win today. Isner meanwhile needs a win today to keep himself in the top 10. The 33-year-old American has slowly been building momentum since a rough few months, when he went on a six-match losing streak between October and January. Isner now has 12 wins on American hard courts over the past two months. He’s easily advanced to his second consecutive semifinal in Miami, at least by Isner standards. He’s taken all four of his matches in straight sets, though seven of those eight sets were decided by a tiebreak. With Auger Aliassime also having a strong serve, I have a feeling we’re in for a few more tiebreaks today. That’s advantage Isner based on the past week’s results.
Other notable matches on Day 12
- Australian Open Champions Sam Stosur and Shuai Zhang (6) vs. 2019’s No.1 team, Hao-Ching Chan and Latisha Chan (8)
- Indian Wells Champions Elise Mertens and Aryna Sabalenka vs. Wild Cards Victoria Azarenka and Ash Barty
- The best men’s team in the world, Lukasz Kubot and Marcelo Melo (1) vs. the best men’s team of all-time, Bob Bryan and Mike Bryan (3)
- The regular doubles pairing of Ivan Dodig and Edouard Roger-Vasselin vs. the new pairing of Wesley Koolhof and Stefanos Tsitsipas, the 20-year-old Greek now ranked inside the top 10 in singles.
