Canadian Denis Shapovalov wins clay-court opener in Barcelona

BARCELONA, Spain – Canada’s Denis Shapovalov is heading to the third round of the Barcelona Open after a 6-3, 7-5 win over France’s Jeremy Chardy on Tuesday.

The seventh-seeded Shapovalov, who got a bye in the first round, was playing his first clay-court match of the season.

Shapovalov, from Richmond Hill, Ont., won 68 per cent of his points when he got his first serve in, 12 percentage points better than Chardy’s mark.

The Canadian is now 4-0 against the 51st-ranked Chardy lifetime.

Shapovalov could face No. 10 seed Felix Auger-Aliassime of Montreal in the third round of the ATP Tour 500 event.

Auger-Aliassime meets Italy’s Lorenzo Musetti in a second-round match on Wednesday, with the winner earning a date with Shapovalov.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 20, 2021.