French Open 2018: Shapovalov battles back, wins opener against Millman in straight sets

Evan Sporer

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French Open 2018: Shapovalov battles back, wins opener against Millman in straight sets image

Around a year ago this time, Denis Shapovalov was catapulting himself from teenage unknown to a household name in Canada. Now a top-25 player in the ATP, the 19-year-old is beginning to look the part.

Shapovalov kicked off his main draw at the 2018 French Open with a straight sets victory against John Millman (7-5, 6-4, 6-2) playing through a rain delay and battling back in each of the first two steps to begin his tournament at Roland Garros on the right foot.

After falling behind a break in both the first and second sets, Shapovalov showed some resiliency against the 28-year-old Aussie.

In the first, Shapovalov actually faced a set point when he fell all the way behind at 5-2, but went on to save and win five straight sets to complete the comeback and give him an early advantage in the match.

Shapovalov made his life much easier in the third and decisive set, grabbing an early 3-1 lead and serving the rest of the way out.

"It was tough conditions, but because of [the fans] you guys made me enjoy myself out there," Shapovalov said during his postmatch, walkoff interview. "I definitely had to adapt a little bit more [on clay]. It hasn't come easy for me, but the last couple of weeks I've been playing unbelievable on this surface, some of my best tennis really.

"In the future I can hopefully maybe have some good results out here. This year is still going to be tough for me, so every round I win here is going to be a bonus. But for the future, winning the Rolan Garros would be a dream come true, for me."

After not qualifying to play in the French a year ago, Shapovalov saw his stock go on a meteoric rise after reaching the round of 16 in his first Grand Slam, at the US Open, defeating the like of Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Kyle Edmund during that run. 

But since that tournament, Shapovalov has won one match in the main draw of a Grand Slam, losing in the opening round at Wimbledon at the end of 2017, and then winning in the round of 128 at the Australian Open before Tsonga exacted a measure of revenge with a five-set victory in the second.

But since that first Grand Slam in New York, Shapovalov's entire career trajectory has dramatically changed. He recently became the youngest player since 2005 to crack the ATP's top-25, and has begun to find his rhythm on clay, which included a run to the round of 16 at the Italian Open before coming up against Rafael Nadal, and a semifinal appearance at the Madrid Open before a loss to Alex Zverev.

At Roland Garros, a late withdrawal Hyeon Chung (No. 20) reshuffled Shapovalov's draw and will actually help him avoid Nadal this time on clay. After getting regrouped and bumped up to No. 24, it alters Shapovalov's bracket, which previously had him on a collission course with either Nadal, Zverev, or Dominic Thiem in the fourth round. In his new spot, Shapovalov's is projected to play either Edmund, John Isner, or David Goffin.

To get there though, Shapovalov will have to win his second-round match, which will be played on Thursday against Maximilian Marterer.

Pospisil loses in straight sets

Though he's been playing some pretty good tennis lately, Vasek Pospisil's trip to Roland Garros was an abbreviated one.

The 27-year-old Vernon native, who got a spot in the main draw on being ranked 88 in the ATP, dropped a straight sets opener against Martón Fucsovics, 3-6, 3-6, 6-7 (5).

Fucsovics was days removed from winning the Geneva Open, while a week ago Pospisil made it to the championship round of a Challengers tournament, the Busan Open in South Korea.

But on Tuesday, with both competitors coming off successful weeks, it was the Hungarian Fucsovics who came out victorious, producing five break points against Pospisil's two.

Evan Sporer