Del Potro too strong for Shapovalov in Auckland

ARGENTINE Juan Martin del Potro made a confident start to his preparations for the Australian Open with a 6-2 6-4 win over Denis Shapovalov at the Auckland Classic yesterday.

Former US Open champion Del Potro hit eight aces to breeze past the 18-year-old Canadian, who hit 20 winners but committed 40 unforced errors.

The 29-year-old second seed, who won the tournament in 2009 in his last appearance, will now be the favourite after top-seeded American Jack Sock was bundled out by unheralded German Peter Gojowczyk. Del Potro will next face Russian Karen Khachanov, who beat sixth-seeded Uruguayan Pablo Cuevas 6-2 7-6(4), in the last eight.

“I was surprised by the match today,” said Del Potro, who had lost to Shapovalov in Montreal last August. “I didn’t expect to play at this level in the first match of the year. But I’ve been working hard to play this tennis and hopefully I can still improve in the next matches.

“If he has a good day, he is very dangerous as a lefty, he serves well and volleys. Denis played better than me in the Montreal match, but today I broke him three times to love and that was the key.”

Defending champion Sock lost 6-3 6-3 in only 61 minutes to his German opponent, who is ranked 65th in the world.

Novak Djokovic returned to competitive tennis with a bang yesterday, bringing a six-month spell on the sidelines to an end with a thumping 6-1 6-4 win over world number five Dominic Thiem at the Kooyong Classic exhibition tournament.

Six-times Australian Open champion Djokovic pulled out of a tournament in Abu Dhabi last week because of continuing problems with his right elbow and wore a sleeve over the joint during his round-robin match against the Austrian.

In a huge boost for Melbourne Park organisers, who have already lost Andy Murray and Kei Nishikori to injury, Djokovic showed no obvious discomfort as he broke Thiem three times to win the first set in just 21 minutes.

“It was a great start, it feels really good to be back on the court,” a beaming Djokovic said in an on-court interview after his first competitive set since Wimbledon last year.

Belarus teen Aryna Sabalenka blasted top seed Zhang Shuai out of the Hobart International yesterday while former champion Heather Watson had a smooth ride to the quarter-finals with a 6-2 6-2 win over wildcard Jaimee Fourlis.

Big-hitting Sabalenka had felled former world number five Eugenie Bouchard in the first round and the Belarusian’s aggressive strategy paid dividends again as she triumphed 7-6(3) 6-4. – Reuters