Canada’s Felix Auger-Aliassime and Denis Shapovalov earned a 6-4, 6-2 second-round victory over Lloyd Glasspool and Harri Heliovaara on Sunday at the Madrid Open.
The Canadian duo had six aces to two double faults, while winning 82 per cent of first-serve points as they advanced to the men’s doubles quarterfinals.
They also broke on three of their four chances.
Auger-Aliassime and Shapovalov will play Marcelo Arevalo and Jean-Julien Rojer on Wednesday for an opportunity to make it into the semifinals.
In women’s doubles action, Ottawa’s Gabriela Dabrowski and Brazil’s Luisa Stefani defeated Erika Andreeva and Mirra Andreeva 6-3, 7-5 in second-round action.
Dabrowski and Stefani had three aces, won 73.2 per cent of first-serve points and went 3-of-8 on break point opportunities.
Carlos Alcaraz made it easier on himself this time at the Madrid Open, reaching the round of 16 with a straight-set triumph over Grigor Dimitrov on Sunday.
After struggling in a three-set win in his opener versus unseeded Emil Ruusuvuori, Alcaraz improved to get past the 26th-seeded Dimitrov 6-2, 7-5 and stay on track to defend his title on home soil.
Alcaraz was still not at his best but sealed the victory by converting four of his six break opportunities versus Dimitrov. The second-ranked Spaniard was broken only once, in the second set. He finished with 16 winners and four unforced errors.
“We didn’t do some things well in that first match and it was clear that we had to get back to doing what we know, which is to go on attack,” Alcaraz said.
It was the 17th consecutive win for the 19-year-old Alcaraz on home soil. He won the Barcelona Open for a second consecutive year earlier this month.
He next faces 13th-seeded Alexander Zverev in a rematch of last year’s final in the Spanish capital.
“I have great memories from last year in the final but obviously I have to be really focused in that match,” Alcaraz said. “I know that Sascha is a really good player, a really aggressive one with good serves. I have to show all my skills.”
