U.S. OPEN TENNIS 2017 QUALIFYING REPORT • SHAPOVALOV, SMYCZEK AMONG THOSE ADVANCING & SOLINCO STRINGS HAS 30 PLAYERS IN QUALIES

Written by: Staff on 23rd August 2017

U.S. OPEN TENNIS 2017 QUALIFYING REPORT • SHAPOVALOV, SMYCZEK AMONG THOSE ADVANCING & SOLINCO STRINGS HAS 30 PLAYERS IN QUALIES

epa05603413 YEARENDER 2016 SEPTEMBER An image made with a tilt-shift lens shows Angelique Kerber of Germany (L) reacting after defeating Karolina Pliskova of the Czech Republic during the women's final on the thirteenth day of the US Open Tennis Championships at the USTA National Tennis Center in Flushing Meadows, New York, USA, 10 September 2016. The US Open runs through 11 September. EPA/Vincent Laforet |

By Ricky Dimon

Denis Shapovalov, of recent Rogers Cup fame, kicked off his U.S. Open qualifying campaign with a 6-3, 6-4 victory over Denis Kudla on Monday. Shapovalov fired 10 aces and converted four of five breaks in an impressive all-around effort. He also benefited from five Kudla double-faults to advance after one hour and 15 minutes.|

“Unreal support today at @usopen,” Shapovalovic posted on Twitter. “Thanks so much to everyone who came to watch [heart emoji] #DontStopFighting”.

At just 18 years old, the Canadian is already up to No. 69 in the rankings. But his rapid rise came well after the U.S. Open entry deadline, so he failed to gain direct entry into the main draw. Thus Shapovalov is forced to play qualies, and he will try to keep things going against Gastao Elias on Wednesday.

In qualifying, the competition level is a far cry from what the Bahamas resident faced earlier this month in Montreal. At that Masters 1000 event, Shapovalov won four matches–including over Juan Martin Del Potro and Rafael Nadal–before succumbing to eventual champion Alexander Zverev in the semifinals.

Now he finds himself two wins away from the 128-man field of an even bigger tournament. The same can be said of a multitude of American men, including J.C. Aragone, Raymond Sarmiento, Bradley Klahn, Mackenzie McDonald, Christian Harrison, Tim Smyczek, Austin Krajicek, Mitchell Kreuger, Evan King, Michael Mmoh, and Reilly Opelka.

Smyczek scored a solid 7-6(5), 6-4 victory over 16th-seeded Quentin Halys. Next up for him is Sarmiento, a straight-set winner over Benjamin Bonzi.

An intriguing second-round showdown to keep an eye on involves Shapovalov’s fellow Canadian, Felix Auger-Aliassime. The 2016 U.S. Open junior champion, who the 2015 junior doubles title with Shapovalov, is going up against Sergiy Stakhovsky. Auger-Aliassime beat Hiroki Moriya, while Stakhovsky made quick work of Alexey Vatutin.