ÐÇ¿Õ´«Ã½

Skip to main content

Shapovalov overcomes errors in opening match, tops Serbia's Djere at Australian Open

Share
MELBOURNE, Australia -

Canada's Denis Shapovalov overcame shaky moments and worked through a slew of unforced errors to defeat Serbia's Laslo Djere 7-6(3), 6-4, 3-6, 7-6(3) in the first round at the Australian Open Monday.

Shapovalov of Richmond Hill, Ont., needed three hours and 23 minutes to close out a match that opened with a lengthy first set and closed with a prolonged fourth set -- both went to a tiebreak.

The Canadian, ranked 14th, was not at his best -- he had 68 unforced errors in the match -- but he did what he needed to break through and get past the 52nd-ranked Djere.

Up 5-2 in the fourth, Shapovalov was serving for the match but ran into trouble when he made three unforced errors and a double fault to extend the encounter. Djere fought off match point and broke the Canadian twice to force a tiebreak.

Shapovalov shook off those missed opportunities and forced Djere to go long on triple match point in the tiebreak.

The 22-year-old Shapovalov will face Korea's Soonwoo Kwon in the second round.

After dropping the opening two sets, Djere showed some fight and made quick work of the Canadian in a 34-minute third set. Shapovalov lost serve in the second game and quickly went down 3-0. Djere went on to serve out the set.

Shapovalov was solid in the second set, with his break of Djere in the seventh game proving to be the difference.

The Canadian worked hard to win the first set. He was broken to start the match, and needed to fight off two set points in the 10th game down 5-4 to stay alive. In the tiebreak, his fourth ace of the set put him up 5-3 before Djere's unforced error sealed it. Shapovalov made 22 unforced errors in the first set.

Shapovalov made it to the semifinals of last year's Wimbledon, losing to world No. 1 Novak Djokovic. He reached the third round of last year's Australian Open, losing to fellow Canadian Felix Auger-Aliassime.

Montreal's Auger-Aliassime is the other Canadian in the men's main draw at this year's tournament. Leylah Annie Fernandez of Laval, Que., and Vancouver's Rebecca Marino are in the women's singles draw.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 16, 2022.

CTVNews.ca ÐÇ¿Õ´«Ã½

Since she was a young girl growing up in Vancouver, Ginny Lam says her mom Yat Hei Law made it very clear she favoured her son William, because he was her male heir.

The search for a missing six-year-old boy in Shamattawa is continuing Friday as RCMP hope recent tips can help lead to a happy conclusion.

BREAKING

BREAKING

The New Brunswick RCMP has issued an alert as officers search for an armed teenager in the Moncton and Shediac areas.

An Ontario man says it is 'unfair' to pay a $1,500 insurance surcharge because his four-year-old SUV is at a higher risk of being stolen.

Local Spotlight

They say a dog is a man’s best friend. In the case of Darren Cropper, from Bonfield, Ont., his three-year-old Siberian husky and golden retriever mix named Bear literally saved his life.

A growing group of brides and wedding photographers from across the province say they have been taken for tens of thousands of dollars by a Barrie, Ont. wedding photographer.

Paleontologists from the Royal B.C. Museum have uncovered "a trove of extraordinary fossils" high in the mountains of northern B.C., the museum announced Thursday.

The search for a missing ancient 28-year-old chocolate donkey ended with a tragic discovery Wednesday.

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police is celebrating an important milestone in the organization's history: 50 years since the first women joined the force.

It's been a whirlwind of joyful events for a northern Ontario couple who just welcomed a baby into their family and won the $70 million Lotto Max jackpot last month.

A Good Samaritan in New Brunswick has replaced a man's stolen bottle cart so he can continue to collect cans and bottles in his Moncton neighbourhood.

David Krumholtz, known for roles like Bernard the Elf in The Santa Clause and physicist Isidor Rabi in Oppenheimer, has spent the latter part of his summer filming horror flick Altar in Winnipeg. He says Winnipeg is the most movie-savvy town he's ever been in.

Edmontonians can count themselves lucky to ever see one tiger salamander, let alone the thousands one local woman says recently descended on her childhood home.

Stay Connected