In an exciting day at the Miami Open, Canada’s Denis Shapovalov advanced to the third round of the men’s singles while fellow Canadian Leylah Fernandez was eliminated in the women’s singles competition on Saturday.
Shapovalov, hailing from Richmond Hill, Ontario, showcased his resilience with a nail-biting victory over Argentina’s Thiago Tirante, winning 6-3, 6-7(1), 7-6(3) in a match that lasted nearly two and a half hours.
This match marked Shapovalov’s debut at the Masters 1000 event following a first-round bye.
Unfortunately, Fernandez faced a tough battle, succumbing to a 6-1, 7-5 defeat against Ashlyn Krueger from the United States.
Next up for the 27th-seeded Shapovalov is a clash with third seed Taylor Fritz, who convincingly dispatched Italy’s Lorenzo Sonego in straight sets.
Shapovalov’s victory was aided by his impressive 75 percent success rate on first serves, despite grappling with 11 double faults compared to Tirante’s solitary one at the Hard Rock Stadium.
At one point, Shapovalov was poised to secure the match in the second set, leading 6-3, 5-3, and 40-love, but Tirante mounted an incredible comeback, saving three match points and taking the match into a thrilling third set.
Meanwhile, 20-year-old Krueger displayed dominance in her matchup against Fernandez, maintaining her serve throughout and winning a commendable 32 return points compared to Fernandez’s 19.
Fernandez quickly returned to the court for doubles action alongside her partner, Nicole Melichar-Martinez of the U.S., but their efforts fell short as they lost 6-2, 7-6(6) to the duo of Sofia Kenin and Lyudmyla Kichenok.
In other news, Ottawa’s second seeds Gabriela Dabrowski and Erin Routliffe of New Zealand were set to face off against China’s Xinyu Wang and Saisai Zheng in their women’s doubles match later that day.
Montreal’s Felix Auger-Aliassime continues to impress in the men’s singles category, preparing to challenge 15th seed Lorenzo Musetti of Italy on Sunday.
