September 09, 2016 - 5:39 PM
NEW YORK - Bianca Andreescu of Mississauga, Ont., and Montreal's Felix Auger-Aliassime both advanced to the semifinals at the Junior US Open on Friday.
With their wins, Canada is the only country to be represented by both a girl and boy in the final four.
No. 7 seed Andreescu is into her first Slam semifinal following a 6-4, 6-2 triumph over American Vanessa Ong. She will next take on another American, world No. 5 Kayla Day, against whom she is 2-1. This will be their first meeting this season.
Auger-Aliassime dropped just three games en route to a 6-1, 6-2 victory over American Patrick Kypson. Auger-Aliassime, ranked ninth in the world and seeded No. 6 in New York, is through to his second Slam semifinal of the season, as he finished as runner-up at Roland Garros in June.
He will take on junior world No. 1 Stefanos Tsitsipas of Greece for a place in the final. Auger-Aliassime is currently 2-0 against the 18-year-old Tsitsipas.
Auger-Aliassime is also going for a repeat victory in the doubles draw. The 2015 Junior US Open doubles champion and 17-year-old partner Benjamin Sigouin of Vancouver saved a match point en route to advancing into the final on Friday with a 3-6, 6-4, 11-9 win over Japan's Toru Horie and Yuta Shimizu.
The No. 3-seeded duo are now one win away from back-to-back championships for Canadians in New York. Last year, Auger-Aliassime and Denis Shapovalov became the first all-Canadian pair to win a junior Slam in 25 years.
In Saturday's final, they will face Bolivian-Brazilian team Juan Carlos Manuel Aguilar and Felipe Meligeni Rodrigues Alves.
News from © The Canadian Press, 2016