Canadians Bianca Andreescu, Denis Shapovalov advance at BNP Paribas Open

Mar 10, 2019 | 5:45 PM

INDIAN WELLS, Calif. — Canada’s Bianca Andreescu didn’t waste any time on Sunday at the BNP Paribas Open.

Andreescu only needed 56 minutes to win her matchup against Stefanie Voegele of Switzerland, firing five aces en route to a 6-1, 6-2 victory in third-round action at the Masters-level tennis tournament.

Meanwhile, Denis Shapovalov of Richmond Hilll, Ont., won his second-round matchup on the men’s side against American Steve Johnson on Sunday, taking it 6-3, 6-4 in one hour 21 minutes.

The 18-year-old Andreescu will meet China’s Qiang Wang in the next round. The 18th-seeded Wang needed nearly three hours to beat Belgium’s Elise Mertens 7-6 (4), 6-7 (4), 6-3.

Andreescu, playing in her Indian Wells debut, has had a strong start to the WTA season with her latest victory improving her record to 24-3.

The Mississauga, Ont., native moved up to No. 60 in the world rankings last Monday after reaching the semifinals at the Mexico Open.

Andreescu won her first career WTA 125 Series event last month in Newport Beach, Calif., and is currently 15th in the Tour’s overall points race.

The teen was a distant No. 152 at the start of the season.

Shapovalov, who fired eight aces past Johnson, joins Milos Raonic and Felix Auger-Aliassime in the third round after his fellow Canadians won on Saturday to advance.

The 19-year-old Shapovalov, seeded 24th, will next play No. 10 Marin Cilic of Croatia. The 13th-seeded Raonic faces American qualifier Marcos Giron while 18-year-old Auger-Aliassime will play Japan’s Yoshihito Nishioka.

 

The Canadian Press