Canadian Denis Shapovalov advances to second round at Wimbledon

LONDON — Canada’s Denis Shapovalov is heading to the second round at Wimbledon.

The No. 10 seed, from Richmond Hill, Ont., beat Germany’s Philipp Kohlschreiber 6-4, 4-6, 6-3, 5-7, 6-4 in a first-round match on Tuesday.

Shapovalov was down 6-5 in the fourth set when rain halted play for three-plus hours.

Upon their return, the Canadian was not happy with the slippery conditions of the court and went on to lose the fourth set.

But Shapovalov broke the world No. 115 to take a 4-3 lead in the fifth set, and held on from there.

Shapovalov had 79 winners, 62 more than Kohlschreiber. But the German made far fewer unforced errors (22) than the Canadian (66).

Shapovalov has advanced to the second round at the grass-court Grand Slam for the second time in his career. He never has made it to the third round.

Bianca Andreescu of Mississauga, Ont.; Leylah Annie Fernandez of Laval, Que.; and Felix Auger-Aliassime of Montreal all had their first-round matches postponed until Wednesday.

Vancouver’s Vasek Pospisil won his first-round match on Monday.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 29, 2021.

The Canadian Press