Canadian Denis Shapovalov overcame a few blunders and defeated Serbian Laslo Djere 7-6(3), 6-4, 3-6, 7-6(3) in the first round of the Australian Open on Monday.
Shapovalov needed three hours and 23 minutes to complete a game that started in a long first inning and ended in a long last inning – the two went to a tiebreaker.
The Canadian, 14th in the world, was not at his best – he committed 68 unforced errors – but he realized what he had to do to overcome the Serb, 52nd player in the world.
Leading 5-2 in the fourth set, Shapovalov served for the win but was unable to drive the nail in the coffin. He committed three unforced errors and a double fault to lengthen the duel. Djere then broke the Canadian twice to force the tiebreaker.
The 22-year-old will face Korea’s Soonwoo Kwon in the second round.
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