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Canada’s Denis Shapovalov reached the third round of the Barcelona Open with a 6-4, 6-3 victory over Slovakia’s Jozef Kovalík on Wednesday.
Shapovalov, from Richmond Hill, Ont., fired 13 aces during the straight-set win but also committed four double faults. Kovalík had just two aces but zero double faults, by comparison.
The 24-year-old Shapovalov also won 74 per cent of his first-serve points and earned two break points in three opportunities.
It was the first match of the tournament for the 14th-seeded Shapovalov, who had a bye through the first round.
He will next play Stefanos Tsitsipas of Greece on Thursday. The No. 2 seeded Tsitsipas downed Argentina’s Pedro Cachin 6-4, 6-2 to advance.
Shapovalov is the lone Canadian in the ATP Tour 500 series event.