It was quite the day for Canadian men Tuesday in Asia.
Denis Shapovalov won his first round match at the Shenzhen Open and Vasek Pospisil and Felix Auger-Aliassime won their respective first round matches at the Chengdu Open.
Shapovalov, who is seeded sixth at the Shenzhen Open, defeated Ilya Ivashka 7-5, 2-6, 6-3. In a match that took over five hours to complete due to a weather delay.
Shapovalov(🎥ATP) pic.twitter.com/PR3mrQ9wfW
— doublefault28 (@doublefault28) September 25, 2018
Shapovalov had double the aces of Ivashka (8-4), and won more of his service points (64 percent) than Ivashka (61 percent) in the surprisingly tight match.
Pospisil had an easier time of it, only needing two sets to beat Radu Albot, 6-3, 6-4.
Ranked No. 86th in the world, Pospisil won 50 percent of his return points against Albot, ranked No. 102 in the world. OIn addition, he also won 65 percent of his service points in the straight-set victory.
Auger-Aliassime defeated Wu Yibing, 6-3, 6-7(2), 6-1. In a battle of two teenagers, Auger-Aliassime, ranked No. 147 in the world, outlasted Yibing, ranked 423rd, by dominating the third set. Auger-Aliassime won 66 percent of his service points and 37 percent of his return points on the day.
Shapovalov will take on Yoshihito Nishikora in the round of 16 at the Shenzhen Open. Nishikora is ranked 171st in the world. This will be the first ever meeting between the two.
Pospisil will take on Joao Sousa, who is the seventh seed in the Chengdu Open, in the round of 16. Sousa is 3-0 in the three matchups between the two, with the the last win coming in 2016 at the ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Miami.
Auger-Aliassime will face Hyeon Chung, who is the second seed in the tournament and had a bye in the first round. This will be the first meeting between the two.