Summary Denis Shapovalov beat Yuichi Sugita 4-6, 6-2, 7-6 (7/3) in the first round of the Swiss Indoors.
BASEL (AFP) - Canadian rising star Denis Shapovalov fought hard to beat Japan s Yuichi Sugita 4-6, 6-2, 7-6 (7/3) in the first round of the Swiss Indoors on Monday.
The 18-year-old, ranked a career-high 49th in the world and making his Basel debut, continued his breakthrough season by qualifying for next month s ATP NextGen Finals.
Shapovalov will next face either Belgian Ruben Bemelmans or seventh seed Adrian Mannarino of France.
The Canadian made his entrance on the big stage in August with a win over Rafael Nadal on home soil in Montreal, before a run to the US Open last 16 at Flushing Meadows.
On Monday, he became the fourth player to book a spot for the inaugural ATP NextGen Finals in Milan, joining German Alexander Zverev and Russians Andrey Rublev and Karen Khachanov.
Shapovalov started slowly against Sugita, a Cincinnati quarter-finalist two months ago, dropping the opening set.
In the second, the left-hander earned an early break and finished with another, after Sugita saved one set point with an ace but drove a forehand into the net on Shapovalov s second chance.
The charismatic youngster moved into a 3-1 lead in the final set, before being broken in the seventh game.
But Shapovalov took a 5-3 lead in a deciding tie-break and smashed an overhead winner to bring up three match points, before Sugita double-faulted on the first.
"It was a battle, I had to fight to stay in it," Shapovalov said. "I have to lift my game for the next round."
Spanish sixth seed Roberto Bautista Agut eased past Kazakhstan s Mikhail Kukushkin 6-0, 6-3.
The Basel field is headed by seven-time champion Roger Federer, who has played 12 finals in his hometown and is making his 17th main-draw appearance at the St Jakobshalle.
The home favourite earned his first ATP qualifying win at the site 20 years ago aged 17, and will be looking for a seventh title of the year in his bid to unseat Nadal as world number one.
Defending champion Marin Cilic is seeded second as the Croatian fights for a place in the ATP Finals at London next month.
Former US Open winner Juan Martin Del Potro is the fourth seed ahead of Belgian David Goffin.
