It was a tough Monday for Canadians on grass following Canada Soccer’s heroics on the pitch just a day ago, but Félix Auger-Aliassime was able to save the day with a straight-sets victory in Wimbledon round one. Denis Shapovalov was ousted before match point as the Richmond Hillian was forced to retire with a shoulder injury.
Auger-Aliassime lived up to his expectations as the third seed, cruising into the second round thanks to a 6-3, 6-1, 6-4 win over Alexander Shevchenko on Monday.
The 25-year-old from Montreal will be happy looking at the post-match stat sheet. Auger-Aliassime’s 37 winners were 30 more than Shevchenko, and the Canadian also had two-fewer unforced errors than his opponent. On serve, the two-time major semifinalist fired 15 aces and conceded just ten of 55 points behind his first delivery.
It didn’t take long for Auger-Aliassime to be the first set’s frontrunner. The Canadian No. 1 broke right out of the gates and held two more break points in the third game, but Shevchenko was able to keep his deficit to a single break. Auger-Aliassime’s only real trouble on serve was at 2-1, 30-all, as he soon was one-game away from taking the set at 5-3. The Canuck held break and set point at 15-40 in the ninth game and converted on the first attempt with a forceful backhand winner.
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Auger-Aliassime turned things up in the second. From 0-1, the world No. 4 dropped just two of the next 18 points as he held a commanding 5-0 lead in about 15 minutes, before comfortably sealing the set a 5-1, 40-15.
The third set was the tightest of the three. Auger-Aliassime had to slightly hold his nerve as he held from 30-all in three of his first four service games, doing so without facing a break point to keep things level at 4-4.
The Montrealer then made a late push to try to close out the match. After failing to convert on break point at 4-4, 30-40, Auger-Aliassime extended the game to deuce four before a mishit backhand by Shevchenko handed the Canuck break point. Auger-Aliassime converted on that occasion and coupled the break with a match-sealing hold, reaching the Wimbledon second round in back-to-back years.
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The Canadian will meet Croatian Dino Prizmic on Wednesday.
-Francesco
Shapovalov retires from first-round match
Denis Shapovalov has retired from his first-round match at Wimbledon against Pablo Carreno Busta due to injury.
The Canadian was down 6-3, 7-6 (7) at the time he retired.
After dropping the first set, Shapovalov was much better in the second, using an aggressive serve to put his veteran opponent on his heels. However, down 8-7 in the second set tiebreak, the Canadian took an on-court medical timeout to deal with a shoulder injury. Once play resumed, Carreno Busta quickly clinched the set with a mini break, prompting Shapovalov’s retirement.
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The 41st-ranked Canadian has now dropped seven of his past eight matches, with his lone win coming against Jack Pinnington-Jones in the first round at the Queen’s Club.
Carreno Busta, the ATP Tour’s 71st-ranked player, heads to the second round of Wimbledon for just the second time in his career and first time since 2019.
The 34-year-old veteran Carreno Busta took control early, as Shapovalov was unable to convert any of his four break points in the opening game and then was broken quickly on his own first service game. Carreno Busta opened a 3-0 lead and would keep things on serve for the remainder of the set to take the first 6-3.
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Shapovalov found his serve in the second set, as he drilled nine aces while conceding just five points across five service games to take a 5-4 lead. The Canadian’s aggressiveness on serve nearly cost him late in the set, as a double fault - his third of the set - and a pair of poor second serve attempts gave Carreno Busta three opportunities to complete a break to take control of the set. However, the hard-serving Canadian stayed on course and held again for a 6-5 lead. Carreno-Busta would quickly hold to force a second-set tiebreak before injury ended Shapovalov’s tournament early.
-Jonathan
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Feature Photo: Martin Sidorjak
