Denis Shapovalov needed to draw in his bag of shots to beat Lorenzo Sonego 7-6 (7/5), 3-6 and 6-3 on Monday in the first round of the Italian Open, the Masters 1000 in Rome.
The Canadian, 16th in the world, snatched the first set from crowd favorite in 91 minutes,
The second race was also very tight. The Italian, 28th in the ATP, was beaten in the eighth game to take a 5-3 lead. He won the set in 53 minutes, without having to save a break point in the ninth game.
Shapovalov started the third well by breaking his opponent’s serve in the second game to take a 2-0 lead after 3-0.
He scored the victory after 3 h 11 min of effort after the draft match.
He has a lot of mistakes in serving, one of his favorite weapons. He accumulated double faults (7), and his first ball passed only 50% of the time. He only managed three aces in total.
He will face Georgian Nikoloz Basilashvili, 25th in the standings, in the next round.
If Denis Shapovalov manages to beat his next opponent, he could face Rafael Nadal in the next round.
For his part, Félix Auger-Aliassime has an appointment in the second round on Tuesday with Spaniard Alejandro Davidovich Fokina. The Quebecer, seeded No. 8 in the tournament, received a bye in the first round.
On the women’s side, Quebecer Leylah Annie Fernandez will begin her journey to Rome later today by facing Russian Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, seeded No. 14 in the tournament.
Ontario’s Bianca Andreescu will face defending US Open champion Emma Raducanu of Great Britain on Tuesday.
Successful return
Stan Wawrinka, 37, got his first win in more than a year beating 17th-placed American Reilly Opelka in straight sets 3-6, 7-5, 6-2.
The former world No. 3, now 361st, was defeated at the start of the only two tournaments he has played this year, in Marbella then in Monte-Carlo.
The Swiss received a standing ovation from the crowd court after knocking out the 14th seed in 2h 5min.
I’m really having so much funsaid the Swiss at a press meeting.
Great, because I haven’t been to tennis in a long time. I was completely out of circuit. I worked hard to get back, really very good to finally win a game, to see that things got better.
After two surgeries, at my age, I could easily stop playing, as my career exceeded my expectations when I was younger.he admitted.
Wawrinka has three major titles (Australia 2014, France 2015 and United States 2016). He has been treated for this long month for an injury to his left foot that he has been pulling since 2019.
Other results of the day:
- Laslo Djere (SRB) defeated Borna Coric (CRO) 6-2, 6-7 (3/7), 6-2
- Alejandro Davidovich (ESP) defeated Ilya Ivashka (BLR) 6-2, 4-6, 6-4
- Jenson Brooksby (USA) defeated Flavio Cobolli (ITA) 6-3, 6-4
- Karen Kachanov (RUS) defeated Giulio Zeppieri (ITA, Q) 6-3, 6-4
- Botic Van de Zandschulp (NED) defeated Sebastian Korda (USA) 6-4, 6-1
Source: Radio-Canada
