Canada’s Denis Shapovalov reaches Mexican Open semifinals, beats Marcus Giron

ACAPULCO DE JUÁREZ, Mexico – Canada’s Denis Shapovalov advanced to the semifinal of the Mexican Open with a three-set win over Marcus Giron of the United States on Thursday.

The ninth-seeded Shapovalov of Richmond Hill, Ont., dropped the first set 6-4, but battled back to take the second 6-3 and the third 6-2 in a match that lasted two hours 10 minutes.

The Canadian awaits the winner of a quarterfinal between 19-year-old Mexican Rodrigo Pacheco Mendez and Spaniard Alejandro Davidovich Fokina.

Shapovalov, 25, carried the edge in second service points won Thursday at 68 per cent to Giron’s 34. Shapovalov beat Giron for the first time after a pair of losses to the American.

After finishing a long rally with Giron with a sharp cross-court backhand to go up a break in the the third set, Shapovalov played to the crowd by lifting his ear to hear its approval.

It was the eighth straight win for Shapovalov, including the five in a row he took en route to winning the Dallas Open earlier this month.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 27, 2025.