Photo : Peter Staples/ATP Tour
Denis Shapovalov put on an impressive serving display to beat fellow Canadian Vasek Pospisil 7-5 6-4 without facing a single break point in the second round of the Qatar ExxonMobil Open in Doha. The No. 4 seed will face unseeded American Taylor Fritz, who saved match points against No. 7 seed David Goffin, for a place in the semi-finals.
Shapovalov, currently ranked No. 11 in the world, made it difficult for his compatriot to stay in the match, generating nine break point opportunities throughout the encounter and converting two of them, one in each set.
Shapovalov made his debut inside the ATP Tour’s Top 10 after his 2020 US Open quarter-final showing, while Pospisil was named the 2020 Comeback Player of the year after a difficult back injury kept him out of competition for nearly a year.
Meanwhile, at the Abierto Zapopan WTA 250 event in Guadalajara, Mexico, Leylah Fernandez and Genie Bouchard both won their opening round matches in three tight sets. The Montreal-born players are both back in action later today in the round of 16, facing Astra Sharma and No. 8 seed Kaja Juvan, respectively.
