#NextGenATP Shapovalov Rolls At Another Masters 1000
09 March 2018 02:51
Seven months ago, Denis Shapovalov made his name known worldwide at the Coupe Rogers, the ATP World Tour Masters 1000 tournament in Montreal, where he stunned Juan Martin del Potro and Rafael Nadal en route to becoming the youngest Masters 1000 semi-finalist.
The #NextGenATP Canadian was back at it again on Thursday at another Masters 1000 tournament, the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells. The 18-year-old left-hander secured his eighth win of the season, beating Ricardas Berankis of Lithuania 6-3, 6-4 to reach the second round in California.
Catch up on Thursday's action by reading our #ATPMasters1000 Live Blog:
It's Shapovalov's first Masters 1000 victory outside of his home Canada, and he was on against the 2017 VTB Kremlin Cup finalist. Shapovalov, who was named the 2017 ATP Star of Tomorrow presented by Emirates for being the youngest player in the Top 100, captured 88 per cent of his first-serve points (22/25) and was efficient at the net, winning eight of his nine attempts.
He ended the match winning 12 of the last 13 points. Shapovalov will next meet 30th seed Pablo Cuevas of Uruguay, who received a first-round bye. It will be their first FedEx ATP Head2Head meeting.
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Daniil Medvedev improved to 3-0 against Steve Johnson of the U.S. in their FedEx ATP Head2Head series. The 22-year-old Russian struck 10 aces to advance 7-6(0), 6-4 and will next face Aussie Nick Kyrgios, the 17th seed.
Spain's Fernando Verdasco started and finished well during his first-round match against Argentine Guido Pella, and that was enough as Verdasco advanced 6-2, 1-6, 6-2 to face Grigor Dimitrov in the Round of 64.
In a battle of Frenchmen, Jeremy Chardy prevailed against his Julien Benneteau 6-4, 7-6(9) and will next battle Italy's Fabio Fognini, who's fresh off his title at the Brasil Open in Sao Paulo.
“I’m really happy to win today. It’s never easy to play against a friend. I think it was a good match. It was really nice because the court was full. It’s always nice for the players to play in front of a full audience,” Chardy said. “It was a good level, and I’m happy because I took my chance.”.readfullarticle
