Shapovalov advances

Canadian teen tops Fognini, Raonic ousted after rain delays at Rogers Cup

TORONTO Denis Shapovalov didn’t hide his disappointment when he saw that his Wednesday afternoon match against Fabio Fognini had been moved from centre court to the grand stand.

Turns out the switch actually benefited him in the end.

Buoyed by an enthusiastic crowd on the smaller venue, Shapovalov advanced to the third round of the Rogers Cup by defeating the 14th-seeded Italian 6-3, 7-5 in a match that was delayed for hours and interrupted in the first set by heavy rains.

“I know how many friends wanted to come out today and how many fans were looking forward to seeing me on centre court this week,” said Shapovalov, who grew up in nearby Richmond Hill, Ont. “Unfortunately with the rain delay it got moved to the grand stand. It was a little disappointing in that sense.

“But the crowd on the grand stand, I think they helped me a lot because it was so ecstatic, it was so energetic because it’s so compact and it actually bothered Fognini quite a bit, especially toward the end.

“So it really worked in my favour. I really enjoyed myself out there.”

Shapovalov fired nine aces and won 82 per cent of his service games in a match that, minus delays, lasted just one hour 22 minutes.

He also broke Fognini three times in the second set — two to erase a 4-0 deficit and one more to go up 6-5 — before holding serve for the victory.

Shapovalov will face Robin Haase of the Netherlands in the third round on Thursday.

Fellow Canadian Milos Raonic, meanwhile, saw his tournament end with a 7-6 (4), 4-6, 6-1 loss to No. 41 Frances Tiafoe of the United States in a match that was also delayed and interrupted by heavy rain that wreaked havoc on the day from the outset.