MADRID — Canada’s Denis Shapovalov hit 38 winners to defeat Benoit Paire 7-6 (5), 4-6, 6-4 in second-round play at the Madrid Open on Tuesday.
Shapovalov, the world No. 43 from Richmond Hill, Ont., needed just over two hours to complete the victory.
Milos Raonic of Thornhill, Ont., was scheduled to play Grigor Dimitrov of Bulgaria later in the day. Dimitrov is ranked fourth in the world, 20 positions higher than the Canadian.
In other early matches, 11th-seeded Roberto Bautista Agut beat Jared Donaldson 6-7 (3), 6-4, 6-4 in a first-round encounter and Robin Haase ended a four-match losing streak by beating Hyeon Chung 6-2, 6-0.
In women’s play, top-ranked Simona Halep reached the third round by beating Elise Martens 6-0, 6-3.
Halep converted her fifth match point to win her 14th straight match in Madrid and stay on track for a third consecutive title in the Spanish capital.
The 16th-ranked Mertens had been playing great tennis this year but struggled from the start at the Magic Box, ending with 31 unforced errors and five double faults.
The Belgian player was coming off an impressive 13-match winning streak, with titles in Morocco and Switzerland. She also won in Hobart earlier this year and reached the Australian Open semifinals, where she lost to eventual champion Caroline Wozniacki.
Halep will next face Kristyna Pliskova, who defeated Sara Sorribes Tormo 7-5, 6-2.
In another second-round match, Petra Kvitova defeated Monica Puig 6-3, 7-6 (8) for her seventh straight win.