Shapovalov advances at Paris Masters with win over Cerundolo
Fellow Canadian Dabrowski, partner Giuliana Olmos bounced in WTA Finals doubles
Canada's Denis Shapovalov advanced to the second round of the Paris Masters tennis tournament on Tuesday with a 6-7 (2), 6-3, 6-4 win over Argentina's Francisco Cerundolo.
Shapovalov, from Richmond Hill, Ont., had nine aces and converted three of 10 break point chances in the victory.
Cerundolo had just two chances to break Shapovalov, converting one.
Shapovalov will face 14th seed Pablo Carreno Busta in the second round. The Spaniard holds a 4-2 advantage on the career series between the two.
Eighth seed Felix Auger-Aliassime of Montreal, who had a bye in the first round, plays Sweden's Mikael Ymer in second-round action on Wednesday. Auger-Aliassime won the Swiss Indoors in Basel last week to claim his third straight ATP title.
WATCH l Shapovalov into Paris Masters 2nd round:
Dabrowski bounced in WTA Finals doubles
Gabriela Dabrowski of Ottawa and her doubles partner Giuliana Olmos of Mexico have had a lot of memorable matches this year.
Tuesday night's effort at the WTA Finals in Fort Worth wasn't one of them.
After dropping a tough opening set 7-5 to Anna Danilina of Russia and Beatriz Haddad Maia of Brazil, Dabrowski and Olmos were beaten 6-0 in the second and lost that match that took 72 minutes to complete.
The winners had the lone ace of the match, and had seven double faults compared with two for Dabrowski and Olmos.
Swiatek dominates Kasatkina
Iga Swiatek showed why she is world number one and the hot favorite to win this year's WTA Finals in Forth Worth with a 6-2 6-3 dismantling of Daria Kasatkina on Tuesday.
The match felt all but over when Swiatek saved two break points and pounded a forehand winner past the Russian's outstretched racket for a 3-0 first-set lead.
The 21-year-old Pole cruised from there on, dominating with her serve, including one on match point that Kasatkina could not handle, to improve her head-to-head record against Kasatkina to 5-0 this year.
"I think I started pretty well and that gave me a lot of confidence," Swiatek told Tennis Channel.
Welcome to the Swiatek Show 🍿<a href="https://twitter.com/iga_swiatek?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@iga_swiatek</a> sails past Kasatkina 6-2, 6-3.<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/WTAFinals?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#WTAFinals</a> <a href="https://t.co/hvX47onyBS">pic.twitter.com/hvX47onyBS</a>
—@WTA"But on the other hand you have to be really careful and patient against Dasha. I wanted to play in a really solid way but put pressure on my opponent.
"I did that pretty well and I'm happy about it."
The win continues a phenomenal season for Swiatek, who rose to world number one in April and has won eight titles including two Grand Slams at Roland Garros and Flushing Meadows this year.
WTA Finals debutante Kasatkina has also raised her level this season, making the semi-finals of the French Open and returning to the top 10 for the first time since 2019.
The WTA Finals features eight women split into two groups, with the top two finishers moving into the semi-finals.
Garcia beats Gauff
In the other Tracy Austin group match of the day, France's Garcia beat American teenager Gauff 6-4 6-3 to get off to a flying start.
The veteran Frenchwoman, who also triumphed over Gauff in the quarter-finals of this year's U.S. Open, was the better player on the match's biggest points, breaking an error-prone Gauff four times.
"The most important thing today is I stayed really positive, really focused on the present moment," Garcia, who faces Swiatek on Thursday, told Tennis Channel.
"We always know how important the beginning of the match is and I had an opportunity to win the first game but got broken, and I said like, that's not good. But I stayed positive and was able to stay calm."
American Jessica Pegula faces Tunisia's Ons Jabeur and Aryna Sabalenka battles Maria Sakkari in group stage action on Wednesday.
Rublev cruises past Isner
Andrey Rublev improved his chances of qualifying for the ATP Finals by cruising past John Isner 6-2, 6-3 in the second round of the Paris Masters on Tuesday.
The seventh-seeded Rublev beat Isner for the first time in four meetings. Isner dropped serve twice in the opening set and Rublev capitalized on three forehand errors by the American to break for a 3-1 lead in the second.
"From the baseline I was feeling really confident," Rublev said. "As soon as I was returning or the ball was in the game, I feel like I have always advantage, I was not even nervous."
Isner slammed 11 aces, but Rublev did not face any break points and proved the better player in rallies, making only five unforced errors to 13.
Rublev, Felix Auger-Aliassime, Taylor Fritz, and Hubert Hurkacz are contending for the two remaining ATP Finals spots. The Russian virtually occupies the last spot ahead of Fritz and Hurkacz.
Carlos Alcaraz, Rafael Nadal, Stefanos Tsitsipas, Casper Ruud, Daniil Medvedev and Novak Djokovic have already qualified for the eight-man tournament.
WATCH | Auger-Aliassime collects 4th career title with win in Vienna:
Djokovic beats Cressy to begin title defence
Defending champion Novak Djokovic started his chase for a record-extending 39th Masters title by beating Maxime Cressy of the United States 7-6 (1), 6-4 in the second round.
In the first meeting between the two, Cressy saved three break points in the eighth game but then hit two double-faults in the tiebreaker, which Djokovic won with an ace.
Cressy also double-faulted at 4-4 in the second set to hand two break points to Djokovic, who broke with a forehand return winner. The Serb converted his first match point with a backhand volley.
After lifting trophies in Israel and Kazakhstan, Djokovic stretched his winning streak to 10 matches since a loss at the Laver Cup in September. He will next play Karen Khachanov or Marc-Andrea Huesler.
In first-round matches, No. 14 seed Pablo Carreno Busta ousted Albert Ramos-Vinolas 6-3, 6-3, French qualifier Corentin Moutet stunned Borna Coric 3-6, 6-3, 6-4, Daniel Evans overcame Brandon Nakashima 6-3, 3-6, 6-4, and Jack Draper beat Arthur Rinderknech 6-3, 6-4.
With files from The Associated Press and Reuters
