Denis Shapovalov of Toronto, Ontario is now in the third round of the 2019 Rolex Paris Masters. On Wednesday, Shapovalov beat a seeded player as he knocked off 11th ranked Fabio Fognini of Italy, 3-6, 6-3, 6-3.
Shapovalov had the fortune of not having to play too much tennis in his second round match. That is because Gilles Simon of France pulled out with a groin injury after the match was tied at two points each in the first set.
Shapovalov’s serve was working extremely well in the second round. He had 14 aces compared to Fognini’s two. Shapovalov also had only three double faults compared to Fognini’s five.
Shapovalov bounced back nicely in this match after a slow start. He was able to take a 3-1 lead with a key break in the second set and then was able to break Fognini in the first game of the final set. Shapovalov had beaten Fognini once before, and that was in the second round of the 2018 Rogers Cup in Toronto as Shapovalov was victorious 6-3, 7-5.
Up next for Shapovalov is Alexander Zverev of Germany in the third round on Thursday. Zverev is 3-0 against Shapovalov to date. Their most memorable match was the semifinals of the 2017 Rogers Cup in Montreal where Zverev won 6-4, 6-1.
