Canada’s Auger-Aliassime advances to QF at Australian Open with victory over Cilic

Auger-Aliassime overcame a fast and furious start by 2018 finalist Marin Cilic and held on tight until he could turn things around, in a 2-6, 7-6 (7), 6-2, 7-6 (4) victory.

Some 24 hours after Denis Shapovalov reached his first Australian Open men’s singles quarterfinal, his friend and countryman Felix Auger-Aliassime joined him in the final eight.

Auger-Aliassime overcame a fast and furious start by 2018 finalist Marin Cilic and held on tight until he could turn things around, in a 2-6, 7-6 (7), 6-2, 7-6 (4) victory on a steamy day in Melbourne that challenged even the fittest tennis players in the world.

Fellow Canadian Milos Raonic has reached the quarterfinals or better at the Australian Open five times.

But this is the first time two Canadians have done it in the same year. And it’s the second time in the last three Grand Slam tournaments that they have done it.

It’s also the third consecutive Grand Slam tournament in which Auger-Aliassime has reached at least the quarterfinal stage.

Now it gets even tougher, as the two take on the two biggest favorites to take the title among the eight who will remain after Monday’s play.

On Wednesday, Auger-Aliassime will play No. 2 seed Daniil Medvedev, who survived the throwback serve-volley game of American Maxime Cressy — as well as the heat and some physical woes — to advance on Monday.

But before that, Shapovalov will square off against 20-time Grand Slam champion Rafael Nadal on Tuesday.