Vancouver’s Pospisil wins opener against Kovalik
NEW YORK — Vancouver’s Vasek Pospisil earned his first Grand Slam tennis victory of they year on Monday, downing Slovakia’s Jozef Kovalik in straight sets at the U.S. Open.
Pospisil fired seven aces and broke Kovalik five times in a 6-1, 6-3, 6-3 victory.
The Canadian will face South Africa’s Kevin Anderson in the next round.
It was an essential victory for Pospisil as he tries to turn his singles game around after falling from 39th at the start of the year to 123rd heading into the last major of the season.
He has a 7-21 singles record this year including first-round losses at the Australian Open, French Open and Wimbledon.
He has fared much better in doubles, where he is ranked 14th and reached the bronze-medal match at the Rio Olympics with Toronto’s Daniel Nestor.