Denis Shapovalov of Toronto, Ontario delivered a first round upset at the 2024 Miami Open on Wednesday. Shapovalov, who is currently ranked the 126th player in the world, upset the 75th seed Luciano Darderi, 6-3, 6-7, 6-4.
The serve was a major reason for Shapovalov’s success. He had 16 aces, compared to only five for Darderi. Shapovalov was also reading Darderi’s serve extremely well. Shapovalov had 12 break point chances, of which he broke Darderi four times.
Next up in the second round for Shapovalov is the 10th seed Stefanos Tsitsipas of Greece on Friday. Shapovalov has actually beaten Tsitsipas, the 2021 French Open finalist and 2023 Australian Open finalist, in three of five prior matches. Shapovalov’s wins came in the first round of the 2018 Australian Open (6-1, 6-3, 7-6), the fourth round of Miami in 2019 (4-6, 6-3, 7-6), and the 2020 ATP Cup (7-6, 7-6).
Felix Auger-Aliassime of Montreal, Quebec is also in round two after a 7-5, 6-4 win over Adam Walton of Australia. Next up for Auger-Aliassime is the fourth seed, and 2020 United States Open finalist Alexander Zverev of Germany on Saturday. Auger-Aliassime has beaten Zverev twice in seven chances. His wins came in the fourth round of Wimbledon in 2021 (6-4, 7-6, 3-6, 3-6, 6-4) and the 2022 ATP Cup (6-4, 4-6, 6-3).
One Canadian woman will be competing on Friday. That is the 31st seed and 2021 United States Open finalist Leylah Annie Fernandez of Montreal. In the second round, Fernandez will face Emiliana Arango of Colombia. Fernandez won their only prior meeting by a score of 4-6, 6-2, 7-6 in the second round of Madrid in 2023.
