Shapovalov books place in St. Petersburg last-8

Rising Canadian tennis star Denis Shapovalov on Thursday overcame late resistance by Italy's Matteo Berrettini and then eased to a 7-6 (8-6), 4-6, 6-0 victory in the St.Petersburg Open's round-of-16.

Shapovalov, the seventh seed, needed nearly two hours to prevail over Berrettini, the 62nd-ranked in the world, earning a place in the quarterfinals, one of the ATP World Tour 250 series tournaments, held on indoor hard courts, reports Efe.

The 19-year-old Shapovalov, who reached the 2018 Madrid Open semifinal, conceded his service game once, while he seized on three out of eight break points he created.

In their first-ever meeting, both players held serve during the first set, forcing a tie break that the Canadian player won 8-6.

Berrettini made the most of the lone break point he created during the entire match to clinch the second set, drawing the match level at one set apiece.

Shapovalov, however, eased past Berrettini in the decider, winning six straight games to earn a place moving forward.

In his first tournament appearance, Shapovalov is set to take on Slovakia's Martin Klizan, who defeated Italy's Fabio Fognini 6-3, 6-4.

--IANS

gau/vm