Félix Auger-Aliassime continued his strong play at the Rolex Shanghai Masters on Monday while Denis Shapovalov fell in straight sets to world No. 19 Jiri Lehecka.
Auger-Aliassime recorded back-to-back straight-set wins to begin his run in Shanghai, defeating Jesper de Jong 6-4, 7-5 to book his spot into the fourth round.
Both players faced four break points in the match but it was Auger-Aliassime who was the best under pressure, saving three while de Jong only managed to save one. The Canadian No. 1 also finished with seven aces.
The Montrealer’s first break came in the seventh game of the opening set where, at 15-40, de Jong hit one of his eight unforced errors on the day to hand Auger-Aliassime the 4-3 advantage.
On serve, the Canadian dropped just three points over his five service games in the set as he cruised to taking the opener in just over half an hour.
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However, to start the second set, Auger-Aliassime’s service play hit a bump. In the fourth game, the world No. 13 committed three double faults but was still able to hold to keep things level at 2-2.
Both players then traded breaks and later, at 5-4, 15-40, de Jong was just one point away from tying the match. A resilient Auger-Aliassime fended off the pressure to hold before the Canadian held two break points of his own in the ensuing game, converting on the second to serve for the match at 6-5.
Auger-Aliassime wrapped up the contest on double match point to move on to the last 16, where the US Open semifinalist will set his sights on world No. 9 Lorenzo Musetti on Wednesday.
Shapovalov Out in Straight Sets to Lehecka
Shapovalov was unable to build off his comfortable second-round win in Shanghai, losing 6-4, 6-4 to Lehecka in the round of 32 on Monday.
The Canadian broke twice in the match, once in each set, but struggled to take full control when on serve, facing 14 break points and losing serve on four occasions. Shapovalov won just 39 per cent of his second-serve points, ending the match with six double faults.
Lehecka put Shapovalov under pressure right from the start, jumping out to a love-40 advantage in the opening game and breaking. The Czech then held and led 2-0.
In the sixth game, the Richmond Hillian broke to even the contest but the set was tied for just over ten minutes as Lehecka remained patient to break back and regain his lead, up 4-3. The Czech No. 2 needed to hold for the remainder of the set and did so, firing two aces in the process.
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The second set began just as the first did as Lehecka broke in the first game. Shapovalov responded in the fourth game with a break but, this time, managed to back it up with a hold and the Canadian found himself in front 3-2.
However, Lehecka flipped the script, winning three-straight games to force Shapovalov to serve to stay alive in the match.
At 3-5, the Canadian No. 2 rallied to save four break and match points before eventually taking the over 15-minute game, capped off by back-to-back aces on the fifth deuce. But, with Lehecka serving for the match in the ensuing game, the Czech needed just two minutes to hold and seal the win.
Feature Photo: Martin Sidorjak
