Denis Shapovalov is off and running at the Rolex Shanghai Masters, advancing past Italy’s Lorenzo Sonego 7-6(5), 7-6(8) in the first round on Wednesday.
The victory also represents a major milestone for the Canadian as it was Shapovalov’s 200th career ATP tour level win. He is the third Canadian man after Milos Raonic and Felix Auger-Aliassime to reach the 200-win mark in the Open Era.
The 25-year-old hit 27 winners, won 77 per cent of first serve points, and converted two break points in the two hour and nine-minute affair.
In a showdown of two aggressive baseliners, it was the Italian who came out stronger on the hard-court surface in China, breaking Shapovalov in the opening game of the match. The former world No. 10 recovered quickly, striking a forehand winner to break back in the sixth game of the set to level at 3-all.
The two competitors traded holds until an opening set tiebreak. Shapovalov found a beautiful backhand lob winner to take a 5-4 lead. He then converted his second set point opportunity to close out the first 7-6(5) in 65 minutes.
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Both players sustained high quality in the second, exchanging 10 consecutive holds to reach the business end of the set level at 5-all.
Shapovalov drew a backhand error from the Italian to move ahead 6-5. However, Sonego quickly recovered with a break of his own, as the former Wimbledon semifinalist could not close out the match on his serve.
A dramatic tiebreak ensued, with the competitors fighting tooth and nail for an edge.
After failing to convert three match points, Shapovalov won a dazzling 20 shot exchange at 8-all. He sealed the match on his fourth time of asking, finishing with a volley winner to secure win No. 200. sixth Masters 1000 level win of 2024.
The Canadian, who came through qualifying in Shanghai, will face the No. 14 seed Ben Shelton in the second round.
Davidovich Fokina knocks off Diallo
Quebec’s Gabriel Diallo came up short in his first-round match on Wednesday in Shanghai, falling to Alejandro Davidovich Fokina 7-5, 7-6(7).
Diallo, who notched qualifying wins over Benjamin Hassan and Marco Trungelliti, had more difficulty imposing his game against the experienced the Spaniard.
The former world No. 21 displayed his impressive court coverage and ball striking in the early stages, converting the first break of the match to move ahead 3-1 in the opening set.
The Canadian recovered in the following game and got back on serve at 3-all. However, he flinched in the latter stages as Davidovich Fokina broke for a second time to capture the first set 7-5 in 47 minutes.
The 23-year-old from Montreal raced out to an early second-set lead, using his powerful baseline game two break twice for a commanding 4-0 advantage. It was short lived though, as Davidovich Fokina turned the momentum with a run of five consecutive games of his own.
The second set eventually went to a tiebreak, and though Diallo forged a 5-2 lead, he could not sustain his level. Holding a set point at 6-5, he misfired with an unforced error.
Another mistake off the Canadian’s racquet at 7-all brought up match point for the Spaniard, who converted on his serve to book a place in the second round.
