Canada's Vasek Pospisil is moving on at Indian Wells.
The 31-year-old defeated American J.J. Wolf 6-4, 4-6, 6-4 in the first round of the BNP Paribas Open on Thursday to book a second-round date with fellow Canadian Denis Shapovalov.
Shapovalov, seeded ninth, earned automatic entry through the Round of 128.
After dominating the first set, Pospisil ceded control of the match during a shakier second set.
Wolf, ranked 187th, then broke the 68th-ranked Canadian to go up 3-1 in the third set. Pospisil, perhaps feeling the match slipping away, smashed his racket in frustration, leading to an unsportsmanlike conduct warning from the chair umpire.
WATCH | Pospisil smashes racket after losing game:
But Pospisil composed himself, breaking back twice to avoid the final-set tiebreaker and advance at the California tournament.
Felix Auger-Aliassime, seeded seventh, awaits the winner of a match between Spain's Albert Ramos-Vinolas and Italy's Lorenzo Musetti in the second round.
On the women's side, 2021 U.S. Open finalist Leylah Annie Fernandez, seeded 23rd, takes on France's Alize Cornet in a second-round match on Friday.
WATCH | Previewing the Canadians at Indian Wells:
Meanwhile, reigning Indian Wells champion Bianca Andreescu is also automatically through to the Round of 64. She'll face the winner of a match between American Alison Riske and En-Shuo Liang of Taiwan.
The tournament, a joint ATP and WTA 1000-point event, carries a total prize pool of around $17 million US.
Other notable first-round results on Thursday included wins for Japan's Kei Nishikori and American Frances Tiafoe, while 38-year-old Hall of Famer Kim Clijsters' comeback took a hit with a loss to Katerina Siniakova.
Pospisil victory sets up match against fellow Canadian Shapovalov at Indian Wells - CBC.ca
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