Shapovalov beats Dimitrov in Cincinnati for only his second win in three months

It’s been a rough few months for Denis Shapovalov ever since he defeated Rafael Nadal at the Italian Open in May.

The Canadian left-hander lost his following match to Casper Ruud in Rome, the first of six consecutive losses. He broke that losing streak with a first-round at Wimbledon. But then lost his next three matches.

With his confidence on the low, Shapovalov needed a win in Cincinnati to boost his morale before the final Grand Slam of the season – the US Open – later this month.

And on Monday, the Canadian got just that as he defeated 16th seeded Grigor Dimitrov in straight sets to advance to the second round of the Cincinnati Masters.

Shapovalov, ranked 21st in the world, won 7-6 (4), 6-3 in one hour and 28 minutes at the Linder Tennis Family Center on Monday evening.

The Canadian’s big serve was on song on Monday – hitting 10 aces during the match and saving both of the break points against his serve.

He hit 69 per cent of his first serves in and won 88 per cent of those points. Shapovalov will now face the winner of the all-American clash between Tommy Paul and Jenson Brooksby next.

Cincinnati Masters 1000, first-round results (Linder Tennis Family Center, hard, USD 6.971.275, most recent results first):

• Frances Tiafoe beat Matteo Berrettini (12): 7-6 (3), 4-6, 7-6 (5)
• Sebastian Korda (WC) beat Karen Khachanov: 6-3, 6-4
• Marcos Giron (Q) beat David Goffin (Q): 6-3, 6-4
• Marin Čilić (14) beat Jaume Munar (Q): 6-3, 6-3
• Andy Murray beat Stan Wawrinka: 7-6 (3), 5-7, 7-5
• Cameron Norrie (9) beat Holger Rune: 7-6 (5), 4-6, 6-4
• John Isner beat Benjamin Bonzi: 7-6 (11), 3-6, 7-6 (4)
• Emil Ruusuvuori beat J.J. Wolf (WC): 7-6 (2), 6-2
• Roberto Bautista Agut (15) beat Francisco Cerundolo: 6-7 (5), 6-4, 6-2
• Diego Schwartzman (13) beat Alex Molcan: 5-7, 6-4, 6-2
• Aslan Karatsev beat Brandon Nakashima: 7-5, 7-5
• Mackenzie McDonald (WC) beat Nikoloz Basilashvili: 6-0, 6-1
• Botic van de Zandschulp beat Maxime Cressy: 6-2, 4-6, 6-4

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