Denis Shapovalov has his best Grand Slam result of the year.
The Canadian advanced to the third round of the US Open after beating wild-card Frenchman Valentin Royer 7-6 (6), 3-6, 7-6 (4), 6-3 on Thursday in Queens, N.Y.
Shapovalov had not advanced past the second round at any major in 2025, winning one match each at the Australian and French Opens before dropping his opener at Wimbledon.
He will next face top-seeded Jannik Sinner, who beat Alexei Popyrin 6-3, 6-2, 6-2 on Thursday.
Shapovalov, 26, needed three hours and 35 minutes to dispatch of Royer in their hard-fought match.
The Richmond Hill, Ont., native earned a big advantage on serve, firing 29 aces to Royer’s seven and winning 82 per cent of points on his first serve. He broke Royer six times in 13 opportunities.
Later Thursday, fellow Canadians Gabriel Diallo and Felix Auger-Aliassime will also play second-round matches.
Leylah Fernandez and American partner Venus Williams were facing the sixth-seeded duo of Ukraine’s Lyudmyla Kichenok and England’s Ellen Perez in the first round of the women’s doubles draw.
Ottawa’s Gabriela Dabrowski and New Zealand partner Erin Routliffe, who won the 2023 US Open title together, also open their tournament Thursday against Czechia’s Marketa Vondrousova and Miriam Skoch.
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