Canadian Felix Auger-Aliassime off to strong start at Barcelona Open
Outcome not so good for pal Shapovalov, who loses early for 2nd tournament in a row
Canada's Felix Auger-Aliassime is off to the third round of the Barcelona Open.
The 18-year-old Auger-Aliassime, who got a first-round bye, will face No. 4 seed Kei Nishikori of Japan in the third round on Thursday.
Auger-Aliassime, ranked 31st in the world, won 77 per cent of his points on first serve, as compared to 62 per cent for the 72nd-ranked Jaziri.
WATCH | Auger-Aliassime into 3rd round:
Meanwhile, No. 9 seed Denis Shapovalov of Richmond Hill, Ont., lost 7-5, 6-2 Cristian Garin of Chile.
It was the second loss in a row to open a tournament for Shapovalov since his run to the semifinals at the Miami Open last month.
Garin, ranked 48th, had the big edge in first-serve points won, capitalizing on 78 per cent of his opportunities as compared to 57 per cent for Shapovalov.
WATCH | Shapovalov upset:
Elsewhere Wednesday, Rafael Nadal recovered from a slow start to defeat Leonard Mayer 6-7 (7), 6-4, 6-2 and advance to the third round, keeping alive his streak of never losing consecutive matches on clay.
An 11-time champion in Barcelona, Nadal will next play fellow Spaniard David Ferrer.
The top-seeded Nadal squandered two set points after exchanging breaks late in the first set. He rebounded quickly by breaking Mayer's serve in the first game of the second set, then cruised to victory against the 63rd-ranked Argentine.