Denis Shapovalov advanced to the second round of the U.S. Open with a 6-4, 4-6, 6-3, 6-2 win over American qualifier Sebastian Korda on Monday.
Shapovalov, the 12th seed from Richmond Hill, Ont., had to take a medical time out in the third set, but was dominant from that point on.
He finished with 13 aces and 35 winners, though his aggressive style also resulted in 43 unforced errors.
Shapovalov won four of his 14 break point opportunities. He only faced break point twice, saving one of those chances.
WATCH | Denis Shapovalov wins opener:
Denis Shapovalov of Richmond Hill, Ont., moves on to the 2nd round of the U.S. Open with 6-4, 4-6, 6-3, 6-2 victory over Sebastian Korda. 1:57
The Canadian next faces the winner of a match between American Thai-Son Kwiatkowski and South Korean Soonwoo Kwon.
Vancouver’s Vasek Pospisil, Montreal’s Felix Auger-Aliassime and Milos Raonic of Thornhill, Ont., play their opening men’s singles matches Tuesday. Raonic is coming off a run to the final at the Western & Southern Open last week.
Top-seeded Karolina Pliskova advanced in straight sets with a 6-4, 6-0 win over Anhelina Kalinina, while on the men’s side, No. 9 seed Diego Schwartzman blew a two-set lead and was knocked out by Cameron Norrie 3-6, 4-6, 6-2, 6-1, 7-5 in a match that took nearly four hours.
WATCH | Cameron Norrie pulls off upset on Day 1:
Down 2 sets, 76th ranked player in the world Cameron Norrie comes back to defeat 9th seed Diego Schwartzman in the opening round of the U.S. Open. 1:08
Later Monday, men’s top seed Novak Djokovic breezed past Damir Dzumhur 6-1, 6-4, 6-1.
Djokovic is the overwhelming favourite to win his fourth men’s championship and he cruised in his first-round matchup at Arthur Ashe Stadium. Djokovic pounded his chest and raised his racket in the air, keeping his celebratory routine intact even without fans in the stadium.
Djokovic is 24-0 in 2020 and has won 18 of his last 19 matches overall in Grand Slam tournaments.
Osaka wears Breonna Taylor mask, Gauff eliminated
Naomi Osaka wore a black mask with the name of Breonna Taylor emblazoned across the front before the start of her U.S. Open match.
Osaka tweeted during the Western & Southern Open that she was exhausted and “sick” over the many Black people killed by police. She had decided to withdraw from the tournament as a statement in support of racial justice, joining athletes in other sports. Other tennis players expressed support and the tournament was halted for one day,
Osaka, the 2018 U.S. Open champion, wore the mask for Taylor, a Black woman killed by police this spring.
Once her match began, Osaka managed to overcome her own uneven play to pull out a three-set victory over Misaki Doi in an all-Japanese matchup.
The No. 4-seeded Osaka’s movement was an issue at times but she managed to win 6-2, 5-7, 6-2 against the 81st-ranked Doi in an empty Arthur Ashe Stadium as midnight approached.
Osaka made 38 unforced errors, 13 more than her winner total.
Osaka is coming off a left hamstring injury that forced her to withdraw from the final of the Western & Southern Open on Saturday.
Earlier, Coco Gauff of the United States was dealt an early exit.
Anastasija Sevastova knocked off the 16-year-old Gauff in three sets, 6-3, 5-7, 6-4.
It was Gauff’s earliest elimination from a Grand Slam tournament in four appearances. A year ago, Gauff made it to the third round at Flushing Meadows before losing to 2018 champion Naomi Osaka in a match that ended in tears for the teen and a hug from the winner.
Sevastova had been just 1-8 in singles in 2020 and got the breakthrough win she needed again in New York. Sevastova was a semifinalist at the U.S. Open two years ago.
VANCOUVER – The Vancouver Canucks announced Tuesday that defenceman Alex Edler will sign a one-day contract in order to officially retire as a member of the NHL team.
The signing will be part of a celebration of Edler’s career held Oct. 11 when the Canucks host the Philadelphia Flyers.
The Canucks selected Edler, from Ostersund, Sweden, in the third round (91st overall) of the 2004 NHL draft.
He played in 925 career games for the Canucks between the 2006-07 and 2020-21 seasons, ranking fourth in franchise history and first among defencemen.
The 38-year-old leads all Vancouver defencemen with 99 goals, 310 assists and 177 power-play points with the team.
Edler also appeared in 82 career post-season contests with Vancouver and was an integral part of the Canucks’ run to the 2011 Stanley Cup final, putting up 11 points (2-9-11) across 25 games.
“I am humbled and honoured to officially end my career and retire as a member of the Vancouver Canucks,” Edler said in a release. “I consider myself lucky to have started my career with such an outstanding organization, in this amazing city, with the best fans in the NHL. Finishing my NHL career where it all began is something very special for myself and my family.”
Edler played two seasons for Los Angeles in 2021-22 and 2022-23. He did not play in the NHL last season.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 17, 2024.
The sixth-ranked Canadian women will face World Cup champion Spain in an international friendly next month.
Third-ranked Spain will host Canada on Oct. 25 at Estadio Francisco de la Hera in Almendralejo.
The game will be the first for the Canadian women since the Paris Olympics, where they lost to Germany in a quarterfinal penalty shootout after coach Bev Priestman was sent home and later suspended for a year by FIFA over her part in Canada’s drone-spying scandal.
In announcing the Spain friendly, Canada Soccer said more information on the interim women’s coaching staff for the October window will come later. Assistant coach Andy Spence took charge of the team in Priestman’s absence at the Olympics.
Spain finished fourth in Paris, beaten 1-0 by Germany in the bronze-medal match.
Canada is winless in three previous meetings (0-2-1) with Spain, most recently losing 1-0 at the Arnold Clark Cup in England in February 2022.
The teams played to a scoreless draw in May 2019 in Logroñés, Spain in a warm-up for the 2019 World Cup. Spain won 1-0 in March 2019 at the Algarve Cup in São João da Venda, Portugal.
Spain is a powerhouse in the women’s game these days.
It won the FIFA U-20 World Cup in 2022 and was runner-up in 2018. And it ousted Canada 2-1 in the round of 16 of the current U-20 tournament earlier this month in Colombia before falling 1-0 to Japan after extra time in the quarterfinal.
Spain won the FIFA U-17 World Cup in 2018 and 2022 and has finished on the podium on three other occasions.
FC Barcelona’s Aitana Bonmati (2023) and Alexia Putellas (2021 and ’22) have combined to win the last three Women’s Ballon d’Or awards.
And Barcelona has won three of the last four UEFA Women’s Champions League titles.
“We continue to strive to diversify our opponent pool while maintaining a high level of competition.” Daniel Michelucci, Canada Soccer’s director of national team operations, said in a statement. “We anticipate a thrilling encounter, showcasing two of the world’s top-ranked teams.”
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This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 17, 2024
TORONTO – The Toronto Maple Leafs have announced cookie brand Oreo as the team’s helmet sponsor for the upcoming NHL season.
The new helmet will debut Sunday when Toronto opens its 2024-25 pre-season against the Ottawa Senators at Scotiabank Arena.
The Oreo logo replaces Canadian restaurant chain Pizza Pizza, which was the Leafs’ helmet sponsor last season.
Previously, social media platform TikTok sponsored Toronto starting in the 2021-22 regular season when the league began allowing teams to sell advertising space on helmets.
The Oreo cookie consists of two chocolate biscuits around a white icing filling and is often dipped in milk.
Fittingly, the Leafs wear the Dairy Farmers of Ontario’s “Milk” logo on their jerseys.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 17, 2024.
