Denis Shapovalov survives tough test to reach Wimbledon third round

Denis Shapovalov showcased his resilience in a hard-fought battle to advance to the third round of Wimbledon on Thursday. The Canadian, who had a shaky start in the first round, faced off against German Daniel Altmaier, ranked 80th, in a five-set thriller.

Shapovalov took the first two sets with his aggressive style of play, featuring frequent approaches to the net. However, he faltered in the third set, committing numerous unforced errors while his opponent found a rhythm and took the set.

The fourth set saw Shapovalov broken in the opening game, but his tenacity allowed him to level the score at 4-4. Despite losing the tiebreak, he stormed back in the decisive fifth set, claiming the first eight points and eventually securing a 3-2 victory with his 51st winner.

In the next round, Shapovalov is set to face American and 14th seed Ben Shelton, who triumphed over South African Lloyd Harris in a five-setter.

Meanwhile, Novak Djokovic continued his quest for an eighth Wimbledon title by defeating Briton Jacob Fearnley in four sets. Although Fearnley managed to snatch the third set with a late break, Djokovic took control and closed out the match after a three-hour battle.

Djokovic is slated to play against Australian Alexei Popyrin, ranked 47th, in the third round. In another thrilling encounter, 10th seed Grigor Dimitrov overcame a two-set deficit against Chinese player Juncheg Shang to progress.

Elsewhere, Polish player Hubert Hurkacz, the 7th seed, was forced to retire due to a knee injury while trailing against young French talent Arthur Fils. Fils advanced to face Russian Roman Safiullin in the next round.