Shapovalov Battles Back In St. Petersburg Opener

Is this the year that Denis Shapovalov will break through at the St. Petersburg Open?

The Canadian, who made the quarter-finals and semi-finals in his first two appearances at the event, got off to a slow start on Wednesday. But the lefty recovered to defeat Spaniard Pablo Andujar 2-6, 6-3, 6-0 for a spot in the last eight.

“Definitely very tough to play Pablo [in my] first round of a tournament. He’s a great player and it was a tough start to the match,” Shapovalov said in his on-court interview. “I didn’t feel so great, but I just told myself to keep going.

“Obviously there was a lot of tennis to play, so [I] wanted to really turn it around in the second set and I did a really good job.”

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In the deciding set, the second seed won 72 per cent of his return points to finish well and triumph after one hour and 49 minutes.

Shapovalov will face a big-hitting righty in the last eight: seventh seed Alexander Bublik or German Jan-Lennard Struff. The Canadian is chasing his second ATP Tour title and his first since his maiden triumph in Stockholm in 2019.