Denis Shapovalov has advanced to the second round at Wimbledon.
The 19-year-old Canadian defeated France's Jeremy Chardy 6-3, 3-6, 7-5, 6-4 on Tuesday in a match that was a thrilling clash of styles. Shapovalov's power, which created 21 aces, met Chardy's overall steady play as the players battled through a rollercoaster contest that ended with the teenager claiming his first victory at the famed competition.
Shapovalov set the tone early, getting points from his dominating serve and also on the return. The teenager hit four aces in the opening set while also breaking Chardy once, good enough to pace the Canadian to a relatively routine first-set victory.
Wimbledon 2018: Live results from All England Club
Chardy, 31, wasn't about to let his young opponent stroll through the match. The Frenchman won three straight games to open the second set, giving Shapovalov reason for pause as the Canadian struggled with consistency. The cushion was enough for Chardy to claim the set, and it became clear that it would be a close contest.
If there was little to separate the two players after two sets, the third frame proved even tighter. Shapovalov continued to show incredible power and precision with his serves, hitting seven aces in the set, but Chardy was nearly as efficient as neither player was broken until the 12th game when the teenager successfully won a break point to claim the set.
It was more of the same in the fourth set, with both players holding serve and trading games until the end. That suited Shapovalov just fine, as the Canadian was first to serve and the back-and-forth nature meant that he would be in line to claim the set.
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Things went according to plan, and Shapovalov was able to avoid a fifth set by outlasting a resilient opponent to advance to the second round.
🇨🇦 Shapovalov lost three of four on grass before #Wimbledon (all v lefties) but felt like his game was rounding into form at the right time
— Mark Masters (@markhmasters) July 3, 2018
🇫🇷 Chardy had won 12 of 14 coming in so a very solid win
Next up: 🇫🇷 Paire, who Denis defeated in Madrid earlier this year
Next up for Shapovalov is a match with another French player, 29-year-old Benoît Paire.
Pospisil falls at first hurdle
Earlier Tuesday, Vasek Pospisil lost in four sets to Mikhail Kukushkin.
Pospisil struggled in his service game despite holding a 12-2 ace advantage, as Kukushkin took advantage of the 28-year-old Canadian's seven double faults and earned four break points.
Kukushkin, a 30-year-old from Kazakhstan, claimed the first set before Pospisil fought back to claim the second. However, Kukushkin regained control of the match and took the final two sets handily, giving Pospisil his third straight singles loss at the All England Club.
🇰🇿 (77) Mikhail Kukushkin defeats 🇨🇦 (93) Vasek Pospisil 6-4, 3-6, 6-2, 6-3
— Mark Masters (@markhmasters) July 3, 2018
Since magical run to QF here in 2015, Vasek has lost three straight at #Wimbledon
Pospisil remains active at Wimbledon, as he and partner Ryan Harrison prepare for a round of 64 doubles match against German duo Philipp Petzschner and Tim Pütz.