Photo: ATP Tour
Denis Shapovalov continued Canada’s perfect start at the Australian Open late Sunday night thanks to a 6-4, 4-6, 6-4, 6-1 triumph over Dusan Lajovic of Serbia to join Bianca Andreescu in the second round of the first grand slam event of the tennis season in Melbourne, Australia.
After splitting the first two sets, the 23-year-old Canadian found himself down a break in set three but quickly regrouped to turn the set around and finished the match with a flourish to advance relatively comfortably a little over two hours. Despite a few minor setbacks throughout the encounter, Shapovalov just had too much game for his opponent from every part of the court. He hit a total of 52 winners, including 16 aces, compared to just 17 off the racket of Lajovic. He also made it to net 33 times, indicating his desire to control the points as much as possible and won 22 of those points.
RELATED: Andreescu Soars Into Round Two at the Australian Open
Shapovalov will be looking to improve on his second round performance at the Australian Open last year when he takes on either Taro Daniel of Japan or Mexican qualifier Ernesto Escobedo. In 2022, he was upset by Soonwoo Kwon in round two.
Meanwhile, Félix Auger-Aliassime, seeded sixth as the first grand slam of the 2023 season, will face his compatriot Vasek Pospisil in an all-Canadian contest early Monday morning.
