(Paris) Canadian Denis Shapovalov qualified for the second round of the Paris Masters 1000 on Tuesday with a three-set victory of 6-7 (2), 6-3, 6-4 over Argentinian Francisco Cerundolo.
Posted at 5:58 p.m.
In that first career meeting with the 30-year-old Argentinian, Shapovalov collected nine aces, committed three double faults and won 78% of the points after placing his first ball in play.
The 23-year-old Canadian, 16e world player since his participation in the final at the Vienna tournament on Sunday, has faced only two break points, both in the second game of the match. He was unable to protect the second, wasting the break he himself had made in the previous game.
Thereafter, Shapovalov never came close to flinching on his serve, and he managed important breaks, in the eighth game of the second set and the ninth game of the deciding set.
In the second round, on Wednesday, Shapovalov will face the Spaniard Pablo Carreno Busta, ranked 14ewho defeated his compatriot Albert Ramos-Vinolas 6-3, 6-3.
If he wins, Shapovalov could face second-seeded Rafael Nadal of Spain in the third round.
Tomorrow, it will be the turn of Montrealer Félix Auger-Aliassime to play his first match at the tournament, when he will face Sweden’s Mikael Ymer, in a second-round duel.
Eighth player in the world, Auger-Aliassime will enter the tournament in search of a fourth title in as many weeks, after his triumphs in Florence, Antwerp and Basel.
Successful return
Earlier in the day, defending champion Novak Djokovic began his quest for a 39e title of the Masters 1000 series by beating American Maxime Cressy 7-6 (1), 6-4 in a second-round match.
Cressy saved three break points in the eighth game before committing two double faults in the first set tiebreaker. The Serb, who faced Cressy for the first time in his career, then won it by slamming an ace.
Cressy also double-faulted at 4-4 in the second set to give his opponent two break points, and Djokovic took advantage with a forehand winner in return. The ‘Djoker’ then sealed the outcome of the match with a winning backhand volley.
After triumphs in Israel and Kazakhstan, Djokovic extended his winning streak to 10 following his defeat at the Laver Cup in September. He will face the winner of the duel between Karen Khachanov and Marc-Andrea Hüsler in the next round.
Meanwhile, Andrey Rublev and Hubert Hurkacz improved their chances of making the ATP Finals.
Rublev easily defeated John Isner 6-2, 6-3 in the second round, while Hurkacz got the better of local favorite Adrian Mannarino 7-6(5), 6-4 in the first round.
Rublev, the seventh seed, defeated Isner for the first time in four encounters. Isner was broken twice in the first set, and Rublev took advantage of three unforced forehand errors from the American to steal his serve and take the lead 3-1 in the second.
Isner slammed 11 aces, but the Russian didn’t face a single break point and proved more dominant in the long rallies. Rublev has also committed only five unforced errors, against 13 in total for Isner.
In other matches in the first round, Bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov beat Botic van de Zandschulp 7-6 (5), 7-6 (5), Frenchman Corentin Moutet stunned Borna Coric 3-6, 6-3, 6-4, Daniel Evans overthrew Brandon Nakashima 6-3, 3-6, 6-4, Jack Draper beat Arthur Rinderknech 6-3, 6-4, Fabio Fognini ousted Arthur Fils 7-6 (5), 6 -7 (4), 6-2, and Tommy Paul got rid of Roberto Bautista Agut 6-4, 6-4.