There will not be an all-Canadian final in Paris. After split fates in the semifinals, only one of the Canadian boys is still standing at the French Open, while his finals opponent will be a home hope with the crowd on his side. Here’s what happened in the semifinals of the boys’ singles at the French Open.

Geoffrey Blancaneaux (FRA) d. Denis Shapovalov (CAN) [5] 6-7(4), 7-5, 6-3

Denis Shapovalov was the highest seed left in the draw and was coming off an upset of the top seed in the quarterfinals. But the Canadian was struggling to take control of the match, facing some stiff pressure on his serve. Both men were returning well which resulted in a wild opener, where each boy broke three times. In the ensuing tiebreak, it was Shapovalov who finally took control, taking the breaker 7-4.

Geoffrey Blancaneaux hits a backhand. Photo: Susan Mullane/ITF
Geoffrey Blancaneaux hits a backhand. Photo: Susan Mullane/ITF

In the second, the Frenchman did a good job to hang in the match as Shapovalov piled on the pressure. But the Canadian would only manage one break, which Blancaneaux matched. Despite being stronger on return, Shapovalov was broken late and dropped the set to send it to a decider. The Canadian seemed out of gas on his return in the final set, as Blancaneaux started to control the match. The fifth seed only managed one break, only winning eight points on return in total. Blancaneaux broke twice himself, riding a strong serve into the final.

Félix Auger-Aliassime (CAN) [11] d. Nicola Kuhn (ESP) 6-4, 6-2

There was very little between Félix Auger-Aliassime and Nicola Kuhn in the early stages of the match, with both men holding serve fairly routinely throughout the set. Auger-Aliassime, in particular, was lights out on serve, only losing one point on his first serve. There would be only one break point in the entire opening set, going the way of the Canadian. He converted and did not give Kuhn and chance to get it back, holding without facing a break point to take the opening set.

Auger-Aliassime pumps his fist. Photo: Susan Mullane/ITF
Auger-Aliassime pumps his fist. Photo: Susan Mullane/ITF

The fifteen-year-old was even more in control in the second set. Again, he did not face a break point on his serve and only dropped four points on his serve in total. He converted two of his three break points, slowly squeezing the life out of his opponent. The dominant serving performance saw the youngster into his first junior Grand Slam final at the tender age of 15.

It be a battle of August 8th birthdays in final, as 17-year-old Blancaneaux takes on 15-year-old Auger-Aliassime for the French Open title.