Djokovic, Shapovalov enter 2nd round of Japan Open Tennis Championships

Speed Post News Network

Patna : Top seed and World No 1 Novak Djokovic, 32, Serbia, and World No 32 Denis Shapovalov, 20, Canada, advanced to the 2nd round of Rakuten Japan Open Tennis Championships at Tokyo, Japan, on October 1, 2019.

Djokovic beat World No 94 Alexei Popyrin, 20, Australia, 8-4, 6-2 in 1 hr 29 minutes in first round winning 3 break points besides winning 5 games in a row. Djokovic fired 7 Aces in the match to 8 by Popyrin. The Australian committed 5 double faults to 2 by Djokovic. Djokovic’s winning percentage both on his first and second serve (84% & 72 %) was much higher than that of Popyrin ( 64% & 48%). Djokovic will face Go Soeda, Japan, in 2nd round on October 2, 2019.

Shapovalov defeated World No 51 Miomir Kecmanovic, 20, Serbia, 6-4, 6-4 to enter the second round. Shapovalov hammered 16 Aces in the match to 2 by Kecmanovic. The Canadian also won 2 break points besides winning 3 games in a row. Shapovalov, however, committed 7 double faults to 1 by Kecmanovic. The Canadian won 51 service points to 40 by the Serbian,