By Canadian Press

Canadian Denis Shapovalov advances, Milos Raonic eliminated at Italian Open

Sep 17, 2020 | 9:04 AM

ROME — Denis Shapovalov is heading to the third round of the Italian Open, while fellow Canadian Milos Raonic suffered a second-round loss on Thursday.

Shapovalov, the No. 12 seed from Richmond Hill, Ont., beat Spanish qualifier Pedro Martinez 6-4, 6-4 in the second round of the ATP Masters 1000 clay-court event.

Raonic, the No. 13 seed from Thornhill, Ont., lost 7-6 (3), 4-6, 6-2 to world No. 25 Dusan Lajovic of Serbia.

It is the first clay-court tournament for men since tennis resumed after the COVID-19 suspension last month. Clay traditionally is not the strongest surface for Shapovalov or Raonic.

Shapovalov will face the winner of a match between No. 7 seed Fabio Fognini of Italy and unseeded Ugo Humbert of France in the round of 16.

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Shapovalov is coming off a run to the quarterfinals at the U.S. Open, the best showing by a Canadian male in the history of the New York Grand Slam.

The Canadian hasn’t had much down time recently.

Shapovalov played five singles and three doubles matches at the U.S. Open for a combined 29 sets. After losing a five-set, late-night quarterfinal in New York last Tuesday, he headed to Rome, where he also is playing singles and doubles with partner Rohan Bopanna of India.

“Luckily, I’m still 21 years old so the body’s very, very young,” Shapovalov said. “For sure, it has not been super, super easy. It wasn’t easy matches in New York and it definitely has not been easy matches here. It’s been a lot of tennis. For sure I’m feeling it physically, no question about it. I’m getting good treatment every day and I’m just pushing through it.”

In a women’s doubles second-round match, Ottawa’s Gabriela Dabrowski and partner Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia lost 7-5, 6-3 to Lucie Hradecka of the Czech Republic and Slovenia’s Andreja Klepac.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 17, 2020.

The Canadian Press