Shapovalov fends off Kyle Edmund's late charge to advance at Cincinnati
Milos Raonic cruises past Dusan Lajovic in straight sets
Canada's Denis Shapovalov fended off a late charge by Britain's Kyle Edmund for a 6-4, 7-5 win in the second round of the Western and Southern Open on Tuesday.
Shapovalov now holds a 4-2 career record against Edmund.
Click on the video player below to watch Shapovalov in action:
Shapovalov won the first set after his backhand forced his opponent to race across the court and Edmund's return was too deep, bouncing safely out of bounds.
The 19-year-old from Richmond Hill, Ont., looked to have the second set well in hand, taking a 4-0 lead, but he let Edmund back into the match with a series of unforced errors.
After Edmund tied it 4-4, Shapovalov retook the lead, clenching his fist and yelling in triumph after winning the point.
Shapovalov had to labour through five match points before finally dropping a volley over the net well out of Edmund's reach for the win.
Raonic cruises past Lajovic
Earlier on Tuesday, Milos Raonic, from Thornhill, Ont., cruised into the second round of the event with a 6-3, 6-3 win over Serbian qualifier Dusan Lajovic.
Raonic converted 95 per cent of his successful first serves into points, including 13 aces. He converted three of five break-point opportunities while never facing break point himself.
Click on the video player below to watch Raonic in action:
Playing in his first match since retaking the mantle of top-seeded Canadian on the ATP Tour from Shapovalov, Raonic completed the 57-minute win by breaking Lajovic in the final game.
Raonic, ranked 29th in the world, next faces lucky loser Malek Jaziri. The Tunisian had a bye into the second round, replacing top-ranked Spaniard Rafael Nadal in the main draw.
Shapovalov will face the winner of the Raonic-Jaziri match. in the tournament's third round.
Serena's slump continues
Serena Williams saw her post-Wimbledon slump continue Tuesday.
The 36-year-old American lost 6-3, 2-6, 6-3 to the Czech Republic's Petra Kvitova in second-round action at the Western & Southern Open in Mason, Ohio.
Since losing to Germany's Angelique Kerber in the Wimbledon final, Williams has a 1-2 match record. Two weeks ago, she took the worst defeat of her career, falling 6-1, 6-0 to Great Britain's Johanna Konta in the first round at San Jose, Calif.
Williams pulled out of last week's event in Montreal for personal reasons, then blew out Australia's Daria Gavrilova 6-1, 6-2 in the first round outside Cincinnati on Monday.
Kvitova, a two-time Wimbledon champion, won Tuesday by picking on Williams' second serve, taking 15 of 36 points (42 percent). Williams captured just 10 of 35 points (29 per cent) on Kvitova's second serve.
"It's always a pleasure to share a court with her, I'm just happy I did well today," Kvitova said of Williams. "She really pushed me a lot. I just tried to stay focused on my serve."
Up next for Kvitova is a third-round match against Kristina Mladenovic. The Frenchwoman cruised to a 6-3, 6-0 victory over Slovakia's Viktoria Kuzmova.
Federer advances
Roger Federer advanced to the third round with a 6-4, 6-4 victory against Peter Gojowczyk.
It was Federer's first Cincinnati appearance since winning his tournament-record seventh championship in 2015. After a first-round bye, Federer extended his Cincinnati winning streak to 11 matches since losing to Rafael Nadal in the 2013 quarterfinals.
Click on the video player below to watch Federer's victory:
The second-seeded Federer, refreshed from a month off after losing in the Wimbledon quarterfinals, became the tournament favourite when Nadal withdrew on Sunday night.
Karolina Pliskova and Nick Kyrgios also advanced Tuesday in early tournament action.
Pliskova moved into the second round by snapping a seven-match losing streak against Agnieszka Radwanska with a 6-3, 6-3 win.
"It means a lot because it was against her, and, like, you know, I never beat her," Pliskova said. "We played so many times. I think I always played her at her best level the matches before, so it was always tough."
Kyrgios, a finalist last year in Cincinnati, overcame physical problems to fight off qualifier Denis Kudla for a 6-7 (2), 7-5, 7-6 (9) victory.
Goffin downs streaky Tsitsipas
"This year has been tough," Kyrgios said. "I started the year very well. Then, obviously, I hurt my elbow. Then I had an ongoing hip injury. We have been definitely thinking about the options with my hip. You know, there is only so much you can do before you have to, you know, I guess, get surgery or something like that. You know, right now I'm just managing it."
No. 11 seed David Goffin advanced with a 7-5, 6-3 win over Stefanos Tsitsipas, and Leonardo Mayer became the first player to reach the third round on the men's side with a 7-6 (7), 6-4 victory over 16th-seeded Lucas Pouille.
Australian Open semifinalist Hyeon Chung won the last five games to beat Jack Sock 2-6, 6-1, 6-2. Sock has lost eight straight matches since winning in Rome on May 13.
Robin Haase also made it to the second round, defeating Filip Krajinovic 4-6, 6-2, 6-3.
Sixth-seeded Caroline Garcia reach the third round with a 6-4, 6-5 win over wild card Victoria Azarenka. Elise Mertens scored a 6-4, 6-2 first-round win over Magdalena Rybarikova. Ashleigh Barty stopped wild-card Marketa Vondrousova 6-3, 7-5.
Maria Sakkari upset Indian Wells champion Naomi Osaka 6-3, 7-6 (8). Ekaterina Makarova cruised past qualifier Ana Bogdan 6-3, 6-2.
With files from the Associated Press and Field Level Media