Unseeded Shapovalov downs South African opponent in 1st round of Halle Open

Canada's Denis Shapovalov defeated South Africa's Lloyd Harris 7-6 (1), 6-4 in first-round play Monday at the Terra Wortmann Open.

The unseeded Shapovalov, who rose two spots to No. 27 in the latest ATP Tour rankings, needed one hour 34 minutes to complete the victory.

Shapovalov, from Richmond Hill, Ont., will face ninth-seeded Alexander Zverev of Germany or Austrian wild-card Dominic Thiem in the next round.

Top-seeded Russian Daniil Medvedev and second-seeded Stefanos Tsitsipas of Greece headline the 32-man field at the ATP 500-level grass-court tournament.

World No. 12 Felix Auger-Aliassime was scheduled to play at the tournament, but the Montreal native withdrew to rest his sore left knee with Wimbledon approaching.

WATCH | Shapovalov takes 94 minutes to win opening match in Germany:

Denis Shapovalov victorious in his Halle Open debut

1 year ago

Duration 1:50

Making his Halle Open debut in Germany, Denis Shapovalov of Richmond Hill, Ont., beat South Africa's Lloyd Harris 7-6(1), 6-4 to advance to the round of 16. It's the first time Shapovalov has defeated Lloyd in four meetings.

Tsitsipas, Medvedev win openers

Stefanos Tsitsipas and Daniil Medvedev progressed from the first round, though some had an easier time at the grass-court tournament.

The second-seeded Stefanos Tsitsipas needed two hours 22 minutes before he eventually prevailed against French player Gregoire Barrere 6-7 (6), 6-4, 7-6 (3).

Tsitsipas, who was upset by veteran French player Richard Gasquet in Stuttgart last week, was headed for another loss as he trailed by a set and a break at 3-1 down in the second set, but he recovered for a second-round meeting with Nicolas Jarry.

Top-seeded Medvedev, who lost last year's final, defeated American qualifier Marcos Giron 6-4 6-3.

Kyrgios out of tourney with knee issue

Last year's Wimbledon runner-up Nick Kyrgios withdrew on Monday in his latest setback as he tries to recover from a long-running knee injury.

In a German-language statement on the Halle Open website, Kyrgios was quoted as saying he had withdrawn because he didn't feel he could play at the level he did last year, when he was a semifinalist in Halle before going on to reach the Wimbledon final.

"The 28-year-old Australian is still suffering from the aftereffects of a complicated knee injury which had put him out of action for around seven months," organizers said, adding that he felt a recurrence of the knee issue while training in Halle.

Kyrgios, who had knee surgery in January, returned to action last week for the first time since October in a straight-set loss to Wu Yibing at the grass-court Stuttgart Open.

Halle is another grass event viewed as a warmup for Wimbledon. The Australian had been due to play Lorenzo Sonego in the first round and his place has now been taken by former Australian Open semifinalist Aslan Karatsev.

Venus Williams, 43, pulls off surprising win

At age 43 and ranked No. 697, Venus Williams isn't done quite yet, especially on her favoured surface of grass.

Williams upset 48th-ranked Camile Giorgi 7-6 (5), 4-6, 7-6 (6) after more than three hours at the Birmingham Classic in England for her first victory over a player in the top 50 in nearly four years.

Williams, a seven-time Grand Slam champion and five-time winner of the Wimbledon singles, was out for six months because of a hamstring injury sustained in Auckland in the first week of the year.

On her return last week, she lost to 17-year-old Celine Naef in the first round of the Libema Open in the Netherlands.