Shapovalov shines at Salem
Washington, Aug. 21: Canadian second seed Denis Shapovalov advanced at the ATP Winston- Salem Open on Tuesday, beating American Tennys Sandgren 6- 2, 6- 4.
Sandgren, ranked 73rd in the world, was coming off a first- round victory over three- time Grand Slam champion Andy Murray, who was playing just his second singles match since the Australian Open as he bids to return to peak form in the wake of career- threatening hip surgery.
Sandgren battled back from 0- 3 down in the second set — going up a service break before Shapavolov came through with a break in the final game to seal the victory.
“It was definitely a great win,” said Shapovalov, who hadn’t made it past the second round of an ATP event since Lyon in May and, like Paire, said he hoped a strong performance in WinstonSalem would be a springboard into the US Open.
“I’ve been struggling a little bit during the clay and grass court season and the hardcourt swing,” he said.
“So far, so good,” said Shapovalov, who next
faces Serbian Miomir Kecmanovic, a 7- 6 ( 7/ 5), 63 winner over Australian Alexei Popyrin.
South Korean Lee Duckhee’s ground- breaking tournament came to an end with a 6- 4, 0- 6, 3- 6 loss
to third- seeded Hubert Hurkacz of Poland.
Lee had become the first deaf player to win an ATP match with his firstround win over Henri Laaksonen.
“I’m a little bit disappointed right now,” Lee admitted. “I had many chances that I didn’t utilise, but it was a great experience overall.” Strycova upset in Bronx first round
New York: Wimbledon semifinalist Barbora Strycova was knocked out of the Bronx Open on Tuesday with a 3- 6, 6- 2, 6- 1 loss to Bernarda Pera.
Strycova was the No. 3 seed and was playing her opening match in the new WTA tournament after receiving a first- round bye. But the 33- year- old Czech, the oldest player in the field, was handled easily by the American wildcard entrant over the final two sets on a hot afternoon after winning the first set.
Pera will play No. 5 Katerina Siniakova, who had rolled to a 6- 0, 3- 0 lead over Anastasia Potapova before the Russian qualifier retired.
The other quarterfinal matchup set up Tuesday will feature Camila Giorgi, who outlasted Andrea Petkovic 3- 6, 7- 5, 7- 6 ( 3), against Alize Cornet, who was leading 7- 6 ( 5), 4- 0 when Zhu Lin had to retire with an injury.