Denis Shapovalov seems to be rounding into form nicely on the lawns of Wimbledon. The former semifinalist is into the third round for the second time in his career after defeating Gregoire Barrere in straight sets on Thursday.
So far at the 2023 Championships, Shapovalov has taken to court three out of four days but showed little sign of wear and tear as he dominated on serve in a 6-3, 6-4, 7-6(7) win.
A day after winning the last three sets of his opening-round match with Radu Albot, Shapovalov was at his aggressive best, firing 18 aces and winning 83 per cent of his first serve points. He only faced one break point in the match, which he saved. He added 45 winners to 33 unforced errors.
Both men started out well on serve, not facing much adversity through the first seven games. It was the Canadian making the first move up 4-3, drawing an error from Barrere at the net to secure the lone break in the opening set.
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Shapovalov’s strong serving was a means of keeping the pressure on his French opponent, who could not afford to fall behind a break. At one point in the second set, the Canadian won 14 consecutive points on his serve.
In the midst of that run, Barrere played a sloppy game to gift Shapovalov two break points. He fired a backhand winner on the second to put the clamps on the Frenchman.
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Consolidating the break proved challenging for Shapovalov as he let a 40-love lead slip away, ending his service points streak, and faced a break point for the only time in the match. But he found an ace to erase the threat and managed to hold serve before closing out the set two games later with a hold to love.
Shapovalov pushed hard to finish the match in regulation in the third set, getting Barrere to deuce three times but never managing to create a break point. But with the way the Canadian was serving, losing just six points in six service games, he gave his opponent little opportunity to mount a comeback.
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Barrere had one chance in a tense tiebreak to extend the match when he led 7-6, but Shapovalov drew an error. On the second match point at 8-7, the Frenchman missed a forehand to send the Canadian into the third round.
Awaiting Shapovalov will be home-favourite Liam Broady, who upset fourth seed Casper Ruud in the second round. The only other time the Canadian got past the second round at Wimbledon, he made it all the way to the semifinals.