João Fonseca to Face Denis Shapovalov in ATP 500 Quarterfinal

SÃO PAULO, SP (UOL/Folhapress) – Brazilian tennis player João Fonseca will meet Canadian Denis Shapovalov in the quarterfinals of the ATP 500 tournament in Basel, Switzerland. The match is set to take place after Shapovalov advanced by defeating French player Valentin Royer in straight sets on Thursday morning.

Shapovalov won the match with scores of 7-6 and 6-2, showcasing his strong performance on hard courts. This year, the 23rd-ranked player in the world has already bagged two titles, including the ATP 2025 in Los Cabos and the ATP 500 in Dallas. All four career titles for Shapovalov have come on hard courts, with previous victories in Belgrade (2024) and Stockholm (2019).

Notably, Shapovalov achieved a remarkable feat when he defeated then-world No. 2 Rafael Nadal at the age of 18 during the Masters 1000 in Montreal, Canada, in 2017. This win prevented Nadal from taking the top spot in the ATP rankings. Shapovalov also made history by becoming the youngest player to reach the semifinals of a Masters 1000 event, although he was eliminated there by German player Alexander Zverev.

Shapovalov has entered the top 10 of the ATP rankings twice, first in September 2020, where he stayed for just one week, and again on July 12, 2021, where he remained for nearly two months.

This upcoming match will be the first encounter between Shapovalov and Fonseca. The Brazilian player is coming into the match well-rested, having advanced past the eighth finals against Czech player Jakub Mensik, who withdrew.

The ATP has not yet announced the date and time for this highly anticipated match between the two competitors.