Shapovalov fist pump

Photo: Martin Sidorjak

Denis Shapovlaov is off the third round of the U.S. Open for the sixth straight year after defeating Spaniard Roberto Carbaelles Baena 6-4, 4-6, 6-3, 6-2 on Thursday night in Flushing Meadows, New York.

The 23-year-old Canadian, seeded no. 19 in the tournament, had too much game for his opponent from everywhere on the court despite some ill-timed unforced errors that cost him the second set. He rebounded nicely in sets three and four to join his compatriots Bianca Andreescu and Rebecca Marino in round three.

This is also the second straight year that Shapovalov has beaten Carbaelles Baena in the second round of the U.S. Open. He won 86% of his first serve points in the match, hit 56 winners, and also successfully converted five of 13 break point opportunities.

He’ll face ninth-seeded Andrey Rublev on Saturday in what will be the fifth meeting between the two players, and they have split their first four contests.

More Doubles Success

Leylah Annie Fernandez may have suffered a tough loss in singles on Wednesday in New York, but she was smiling again on the doubles court Thursday following an impressive 3-6, 7-5, 10-5 upset win over the American duo of Coco Gauff and Jessica Pegula alongside her partner, Daria Saville of Australia.

Meanwhile, after advancing in women’s doubles yesterday, Gabriela Dabrowski was victorious again, this time in mixed doubles with Aussie Max Purcell. The pair topped Zhaoxuan Yang and Rohan Bopanna 7-5, 7-5 to reach round two.

Third round singles action begins Friday at the U.S. Open with Andreescu taking on Caroline Garcia of France and Marino going up against China’s Shuai Zhang. You can watch both matches on TSN and RDS.

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