By Chris Oddo | @TheFanChild | Thursday January 2, 2019
Denis Shapovalov edged Stefanos Tsitsipas in two tight sets as Canada knocked off Greece at the ATP Cup.
Photo Source: Bradley Kanaris/Getty Images
Denis Shapovalov started his 2020 campaign with an impressive victory over Stefanos Tsitsipas, and Canada completed a 3-0 sweep over Greece on Day 1 of the ATP Cup in Brisbane.
Shapovalov improved to 3-1 lifetime against Tsitsipas with a 7-6(6) 7-6(4) victory over the World No. 6 that didn’t feature a single break of serve.
The 20-year-old Canadian saved all four break points he saved and also saved a set point in the first set tiebreaker to keep Tsitsipas at bay. The victory marks Shapovalov’s fifth career Top 10 win and his third in his last five matches against the Top 10.
“It's definitely a huge win for me. Obviously, he had an unbelievable end to the season and he's definitely one of the top players in the world right now. He's got a great game. So to beat a guy like this in the first match of the year, it's really special for me. It means a lot,” Shapovalov said.
Felix Auger-Aliassime started the day for Canada with a 6-1-6-3 victory over Michail Pervolakas.
Shapovalov and Auger-Aliassime defeated Pervolakas and Petros Tsitsipas 6-2 6-3 to complete the sweep.
Norway Stuns USA
Thing started wonderfully for Team USA in Perth as they won their first three sets of the afternoon and John Isner held two match points to clinch the victory against Casper Ruud. But Ruud saved them both and battled back to notch his first Top 20 win, 6-7(3) 7-6(10) 7-6(5) victory over Isner to bring Norway level.
Ruud then paired with Viktor Durasovic to defeat Rajeev Ram and Austin Krajicek 4-6 6-3 10-5 to seal the 2-1 victory.
Taylor Fritz had staked the Americans to a 1-0 lead with a 6-2 6-2 win in the first match of the day.
Belgium defeated Moldova 3-0 in the other day session on Friday. Steve Darcis and David Goffin notched singles wins for their side in Sydney. Darcis needed 3:10 to defeat Alexander Cozbinov in the longest match of the day.