Shapovalov advances to Italian Open 3rd round, setting up match against Nadal - CBC.ca

Denis Shapovalov is joining fellow Canadian Felix Auger-Aliassime in the third round of the Italian Open.

The 13th-seeded Shapovalov, from Richmond Hill, Ont., beat Italian Stefano Travaglia 7-6 (2), 6-3 in the second round of the ATP Masters 1000 clay-court event.

Shapovalov won 90 per cent of points when he got his first serve in and saved all three break points he faced against the world No. 69.

The win ended a string of four straight tournaments in which Shapovalov failed to win more than one match.

WATCH | Shapovalov beats Italy's Travaglia to advance to 3rd round:

13th seed Denis Shapovalov of Richmond Hill, Ont., beat Italy's Stefano Travaglia 7-6 (2), 6-3 to advance to the Italian Open round of 16. 1:42

Later Wednesday, No. 2 Nadal defeated Italy's Jannik Sinner 7-5, 6-4 to set up his fifth meeting with Shapovalov, and his first since a 6-3, 7-6 (7) win as part of Spain's victory over Canada in the final of the 2019 Davis Cup.

Shapovalov has defeated Nadal twice on hardcourt in three ATP Tour meetings (one win was a walkover), though Nadal was victorious on clay 6-4, 6-1 in the round of 16 at the 2018 Italian Open.

Nadal has a career 454-42 ATP Tour record on clay with 61 titles, including nine at the Italian Open.

Auger-Aliassime, who was off Wednesday, will meet Argentine qualifier Federico Delbonis on Thursday.

Earlier, third-seeded Daniil Medvedev lost 6-2, 6-4 to fellow Russian Aslan Karatsev.

Serena Williams bounced in 1,000th match

Serena Williams' 1,000th tour-level match ended in defeat as she marked her return to action with a 7-6 (6), 7-5 loss to Nadia Podoroska on Wednesday in the second round of the Italian Open.

The eighth-seeded Williams, who hadn't played since the Australian Open, came from a break down twice in the opening set and saved the first three set points she faced in the tiebreaker before Podoroska converted her fourth. The Argentine went on to win in 1 hour, 58 minutes.

"It's tough to have a first match on clay. It was definitely kind of good to go the distance and to try to be out there, but clearly I can do legions better," said Williams, who has won the Italian Open four times. "Maybe I do need a few more matches, so I'm going to try to figure that out with my coach and my team and see what we would like to do. ... I have been training for months, but it feels definitely different on clay to make that last adjustment."

The 24-year-old Podoroska took a 5-2 lead in the second set but was broken at love the first time she tried to serve out the match. However, she broke Williams again in the 12th game to seal her third career win over a top-10 player.

WATCH |  Serena Williams loses her 1,000th match to world No. 44 Nadia Podoroska:

No. 8 seed Serena Williams lost in her 1,000th match to world No. 44 Nadia Podoroska of Argentina 7-6 (6), 7-5 in the second round of the Italian Open. 1:21

World number two Naomi Osaka also crashed out of the tournament, losing 7-6(2) 6-2 to American Jessica Pegula.

Osaka, a four-times Grand Slam winner, has often struggled on clay and her defeat in Rome followed a second-round loss at the Madrid Open this month.

WATCH | Unseeded American Jessica Pegula upsets No. 2 seed Naomi Osaka:

Unseeded American Jessica Pegula defeated a top 10 player for a fifth time this year, upsetting the second-ranked Naomi Osaka 7-6 (2), 6-2 in the second round of the Italian Open. 1:39

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Shapovalov advances to Italian Open 3rd round, setting up match against Nadal - CBC.ca
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