Republished January 14, 2020 - 7:01 AM
Original Publication Date January 13, 2020 - 8:21 PM
AUCKLAND, New Zealand - Vancouver's Vasek Pospisil downed Joao Sousa of Portugal 6-4, 6-2 on Tuesday in the first round of the ASB Classic, setting up an all-Canadian second-round tilt.
Pospisil will face second-seeded Denis Shapovalov of Richmond Hill, Ont., on Wednesday at the ATP 250-level tournament.
Shapovalov, the top-ranked Canadian at No. 13, received a bye into the second round.
Shapovalov and Pospisil led Canada to a runner-up finish at the Davis Cup Finals in November in Madrid.
It will mark the first time Shapovalov and Pospisil square off on tour.
The 146th-ranked Pospisil fired five aces to Sousa's two and won 83 per cent of his first-service points en route to upsetting his No. 58-ranked opponent.
The match was interrupted by rain with Pospisil leading 4-2 in the second set.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 13, 2020.
News from © The Canadian Press, 2020