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Four-time champion Djokovic into second round at Rogers Cup with win over Basic

TORONTO — Four-time champion Novak Djokovic advanced to the second round of the Rogers Cup men’s tennis tournament with a 6-3, 7-6 (7) win over Mirza Basic on Tuesday.
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TORONTO — Four-time champion Novak Djokovic advanced to the second round of the Rogers Cup men’s tennis tournament with a 6-3, 7-6 (7) win over Mirza Basic on Tuesday.

Djokovic, the ninth seed in Toronto, took care of his serve in the win over his Bosnian opponent. Djokovic had nine aces and was good on 76 per cent of his first serves, converting 76 per cent of his first service points and 79 per cent of his second service points.

The Serbian star, who last won the Rogers Cup in 2016 and is coming off a win at Wimbledon this year, will next face wild-card Peter Polansky of Thornhill, Ont.

Earlier, former world No. 3 Stan Wawrinka came back to beat 16th-seed Nick Kyrgios 1-6, 7-5, 7-5.

Wawrinka, a three-time Grand Slam champion, came into the tournament ranked 195th in the world as he looks to get back into form following knee surgery.

The Swiss player was originally given a qualifying spot in Toronto, but advanced to the main draw when former No. 1 Andy Murray withdrew.

Kyrgios, from Australia, broke Wawrinka twice in the first-round match and had seven aces in a dominant first set.

Wawrinka battled back, converting on 86 per cent of his first service points to take the second set. He broke Kyrgios in the final game of the third set, converting his second match point opportunity when the Australian couldn’t handle his return.

“Stan, for him to get through matches like this, healthy, no pain, that’s a good sign for him,” Kyrgios said. ”He’s playing a good level. He’s got a world-class backhand and matches like this are going to give him confidence.

“But I can’t take any positives away from this at all.”

In another first-round upset, Robin Haase of the Netherlands downed Japan’s Kei Nishikori 7-5, 6-1. Americans Sam Querrey, Frances Tiafoe and Ryan Harrison joined Russia’s Karen Khachanov and Greece’s Stefanos Tsitsipas as other first-round winners. Tiafoe will face Milos Raonic of Thornhill, Ont., in the second round.

Denis Shapovalov of Richmond Hill, Ont., and Montreal’s Felix Auger-Aliassime played their first-round matches later Tuesday.