When it comes to the ATP World Rankings, Milos Raonic from Thornhill, Ontario and Denis Shapovalov from Toronto, Ontario caused first round surprises in Indian Wells. On Thursday, Raonic, the world No. 224 player, beat Sumit Nagal of India, the world No. 101 player, 6-3, 6-3. On Friday, Denis Shapovalov, the world No. 131 player, defeated Botic van de Zandschulp of the Netherlands, the world No. 82 player, 6-1, 6-4.
Raonic won on his serve. He had nine aces compared to zero for Nagal. Raonic also broke Nagal three times. Shapovalov’s serve also worked as he had eight aces compared to three for van de Zandschulp. Shapovalov also broke van de Zandschulp four times.
In the second round on Saturday, Raonic will face seventh seed Holger Rune from Denmark. This will be their first face-to-face meeting. Shapovalov will also face 26th seeded Italian Lorenzo Musetti in the second round on Saturday.
Meanwhile, Felix Auger-Aliassime of Montreal, Quebec, heads to the third round on Sunday. In the second round on Friday, Auger-Aliassime, the 31st seed, defeated Constant Lestienne of France 6-4, 6-1. Auger-Aliassime’s next opponent is second seed Carlos Alcaraz of Spain, the 2022 United States Open champion and 2023 Wimbledon champion. Auger-Aliassime has the 3-1 lead. Auger-Aliassime’s victories came in the quarterfinals of the 2021 United States Open (6-3, 3-1), the 2022 Davis Cup (6-7, 6-4, 6-2) and the semifinals of the 2022 Swiss Indoor (6-3 , 6-2).
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