Canada’s men are off to a flying start at the US Open.
Denis Shapovalov and Félix Auger-Aliassime both impressed on Tuesday in Flushing Meadows, securing straight-set victories to join Gabriel Diallo in the second round of the year’s final major.
Both men were in action on Court 17, with Shapovalov kicking off the day. The Canadian No. 2 got back to his winning ways, defeating Hungarian Marton Fucsovics 6-4, 6-4, 6-0 in his opening match in Flushing Meadows on Tuesday.
It was the first straight-sets win in five meetings between the two recent titlists as the Los Cabos champion now leads the head-to-head 3-2 over the Winston-Salem winner.
The match featured 11 breaks, which ended in favour of Shapovalov who finished with eight. The Canuck’s 28 winners were double that of Fucsovics’ tally, while the Canadian also had 35 unforced errors on the day.
Early on, Fucsovics didn’t make life easy for Shapovalov on his delivery. The Canadian had to battle through a pair of deuces and four break points over his opening four service games but was only broken once. However, the 26-year-old did manage a break of his own as the set remained level, 4-4.
At 4-5, 40-15, Shapovalov turned the game around and rallied to hold a break point. Fucsovics committed one of his 38 unforced errors of the match to hand the Richmond Hillian the opener.
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Shapovalov held to begin the second set but there wouldn’t be another hold until the fifth game as both players traded back-to-back-to-back breaks. The former world No. 10 finally held to lead 4-1.
At 5-3, the break parade returned as Shapovalov was broken in his attempt to serve out the set. However, the Canuck broke back and took a two-set-to-love lead, an advantage that Shapovalov has never squandered in his ATP career.
To start the third, that streak was on pace to stay intact as the world No. 29 earned the early break and shot out to a 3-0 edge.
In the fourth game, 15-30, Fucsovics was forced to take a medical timeout due to a back issue. The Hungarian did continue but was broken as Shapovalov extended his commanding third-set lead.
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Fucsovics powered through the remainder of the set but, at 0-5, 15-30, a double fault by the world No. 63 gave Shapovalov a match point. The Canadian then fired his 28th winner and took the match in just over two hours.
The Richmond Hillian awaits the winner of Valentin Royer and Yunchaokete Bu in the second round.
Auger-Aliassime Holds Off Harris
Félix Auger-Aliassime had a trickier time against British lucky loser Billy Harris in the third match on Court 17 but the Canadian No. 1 managed to hold his nerve in the high-pressure moments to secure a 6-4, 7-6(8), 6-4 win and advance to the second round of the US Open for the first time since 2022.
The Canadian’s aggression paid off throughout the match, as he had 34 winners to his opponent’s 20 and converted five of his eight break point chances. He was solid on serve, winning 74 per cent of his first-serve points and saved seven of the 10 break points faced.
Auger-Aliassime got off to a perfect start, breaking in Harris’ first serve game on his way to a 3-0 lead. However, the Brit quickly turned the tables, winning three straight games of his own to level the set. Harris then had a chance to break for the lead in the ninth game when his return clipped the baseline to set up a break point, but the Canadian saved it with a big serve.
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When the door opened for Auger-Aliassime, he managed to slip through. Harris played a sloppy game as he served to stay in the set at 4-5 and facing a set point at 30-40, the Brit cracked under an offensive onslaught from the Montrealer, sending a forehand wide to surrender the opening frame.
The momentum was short-lived. In the opening game of the second set, Auger-Aliassime found himself under pressure on serve and was eventually broken to give Harris a quick lead. Nothing seemed to be going right for the Canadian as he struggled to create any kind of rhythm through nine games.
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Like the first set, Harris blinked late when the pressure was on. Serving for the set at 5-4, he found himself on the defensive as Auger-Aliassime bullied him around with his big ground game. The Brit missed a backhand to put the set back on serve. He then had to save a set point on his own serve at 5-6, 30-40, but managed to get the set to a tiebreak.
There, Harris had three chances to avoid the complete meltdown but could not convert any of his set points. Auger-Aliassime just needed one in the breaker as back-to-back misses from Harris from 8-all completed the Canadian’s comeback, giving the 25th seed a two-set lead.
Auger-Aliassime seemed well-positioned to close things out when he broke to love to go up 3-2, but Harris responded immediately, using some big hitting to get the break right back.
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Once again, the Brit got tight late in the set and Auger-Aliassime took advantage. At 4-4, after Harris missed a few game points on his own serve, the Canadian wore him down in a long rally to set up a break point. The lucky loser proceeded to double-fault, setting Auger-Aliassime up to serve out the match.
Now the Montrealer will look to reach the third round of a major for the first time since the 2024 French Open when he takes on either Roman Safiullin or Gael Monfils.
Feature Photo : Peter Power
