Canadian Denis Shapovalov has been eliminated from the Rogers Cup after falling 6-4, 7-5 to Alexander Zverev of Germany in the semifinals.
Zverev will face No. 2 Roger Federer in Sunday’s final.
More to come
Federer’s run continues
Any misgivings Roger Federer may have had about playing in the Rogers Cup are behind him now that the Swiss master has reached the final.
The second-seeded Federer used a 6-3, 7-6 (5) victory over unseeded Robin Haase of the Netherlands on Saturday afternoon to reach his sixth final of the year, where he will be seeking a sixth win.
Match Wrap: Roger Federer sails on to Rogers Cup final1:54
He had considered skipping the event, which would have been disastrous for the promoters with world No. 1 Andy Murray as well as Novak Djokovic and Stan Wawrinka already out with injuries.
“I’m very happy that I’ve made it here,” he said. “It was a good decision for me.
“If I would have known I would have gone to the finals, I would have said ‘yes’ right away. Sometimes you’ve just got to wait and see how you feel. I’m most happy that I’m actually really healthy going into the finals. I haven’t wasted too much energy. I’ve been able to keep points short. I’ve been really clean at net. I think my concentration and just my playing has gone up a notch. I’m just playing better.”
The second-seeded Federer is seeking a third Rogers Cup title but his first in Montreal, having won in 2004 and 2006 in Toronto. A victory would give Federer, currently ranked third in the world, one of the top two seeds at the U.S. Open that begins Aug. 28 in New York.
The 36-year-old, coming off victories in Germany and at Wimbledon, is on a 16-match winning streak, his longest since 2012.
Roger Federer celebrates his 6-3, 7-6 victory over Robin Haase in the semifinal of the Rogers Cup. (Minas Panagiotakis/Getty Images)
In Sunday’s final, he will face the winner of the second semifinal between 18-year-old Denis Shapovalov of Richmond Hill, Ont., and 20-year-old Alexander Zverev of Germany.
“I think those young players don’t quite know what to expect, and [neither] do I, because nobody quite knows,” said Federer. “Even though, Zverev is a more experienced player than Shapovalov at this stage.
“It’s a huge opportunity for them. It’s exciting. To have a player at 18 or 20 years old in the finals of a Masters 1000 is not something we’ve seen very often. Very rarely, except maybe when Andy, Novak and Rafa [Nadal] were coming up. They were such great teenagers that we maybe saw it more often. Not even I probably achieved finals of a Masters 1000 at that age. It’s very exciting for tennis.”
Especially for Shapovalov, who has been on fire all week with wins over Nadal and Juan Martin Del Potro, among others. And the packed Uniprix Stadium grandstands have been aroar when the teenager plays.
“I guess this is where my experience kicks in,” said Federer. “I’ve seen some great atmospheres over the years.
“Almost everywhere I’ve gone, I’ve been in such close battles, where the crowd goes wild. You just expect that in a finals like this. I know that’s not going to be the problem for me. It will be ‘what are his serving patterns? What are his shot-making decisions? How much can I focus on my own game? How much does he allow me to play my own game?’ The rest happens by itself really at this stage of my career.
“But even Zverev, same thing. I haven’t played him that much yet. Never really on a hard court, except at the Hopman Cup. It will also be a good match to watch, I think.”
Wozniacki advances
After a marathon quarter-final win a day earlier, Caroline Wozniacki was at her efficient best Saturday at the Rogers Cup.
Caroline Wozniacki, of Denmark, returns the ball against Sloane Stephens, of the United States, during women’s semi-final Rogers Cup tennis action in Toronto on Saturday, August 12, 2017. Wozniacki won the match, advancing to the finals. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Nathan Denette (THE CANADIAN PRESS)
She completed a 6-2, 6-3 victory over American Sloane Stephens in a tidy 83 minutes at Aviva Centre.
“I think I was moving very well and retrieving and just trying to stay aggressive when I could,” Wozniacki said. “But it was a difficult match. And I think it was closer than what the scoreline showed.”
Wozniacki, the No. 6 seed from Denmark, will play fifth-seeded Elina Svitolina in Sunday’s final after the Ukrainian defeated defending champion and second seed Simona Halep of Romania 6-1, 6-1 in the other semifinal.
Svitolina broke Halep six times to set up a final with Wozniacki. Svitolina has won both previous matchups between the two.
Wet weather hampered the proceedings at the WTA Tour Premier 5 event for a second straight day. Quarter-final matches had to be played in the morning and the afternoon semifinal was briefly delayed in the second set.
