shapovalov

A fantastic February continued Thursday for Denis Shapovalov.

The Canadian tennis player won his eighth match in a row and advanced to the Mexican Open semifinals with a 4-6, 6-3, 6-2 win over American Marcos Giron in Acapulco.

The ninth-seeded Shapovalov, who won the Dallas Open indoors earlier this month, will face world No. 48 Alejandro Davidovich Fokina of Spain in the semis on Friday night. It marks the Canadian’s first outdoor semifinal since 2022.

The tournament is wide open with none of the top seven seeds advancing to the final four.

Three of the top five seeds either withdrew or retired from matches earlier in the week because of stomach issues.

Shapovalov, ranked 32nd in the world, won for the first time in three matches against Giron. The world No. 52 beat Shapovalov earlier this year in Adelaide, Australia.

Shapovalov, from Richmond Hill, Ont., could move up to as high as No. 22 in the rankings if he wins the ATP Tour 500 event.