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Tennis-Querrey battles back, Berdych bows out at Rogers Cup

(Updates with Shapovalov win) Aug 8 (Reuters) - American Sam Querrey overcame a sluggish start to defeat Frenchman Vincent Millot 4-6 7-6(4) 7-5 in their first round match at the Rogers Cup in Montreal on Tuesday. The battle was the second meeting between the pair in a week after Querrey defeated Millot in straight sets at the Los Cabos Open on Thursday, a tournament the American won. The 29-year-old Querrey staved off the upset bid by the 31-year-old Millot despite moving sluggishly around the court and his trusty first serve not being its usual lethal weapon. His frustration boiled over early in the third set of the ATP 1000 event when he destroyed his racquet after having his service broken. He won the next four games after the outburst. Querrey will face another Frenchman, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, the 2014 Rogers Cup champion, in the round of 32 on Wednesday. Emerging Canadian prospect Denis Shapovalov later defeated Brazilian Rogerio Dutra da Silva 4-6 7-6(8) 6-4 in a thriller. Backed by a home crowd that included Canadian NHL Hall of Famer Wayne Gretzky, the 18-year-old staved off four match points in the second set before taking it in a tie breaker. DEL POTRO NEXT Shapovalov won the junior Wimbledon title last year and was granted a wildcard to the main tournament this year. The youngest player in the ATP World Tour's Top 200, Shapovalov is best known for his emotional on-court outbursts. Earlier this year, he accidentally hit a chair umpire in the eye with a tennis ball during a first-round match at the Davis Cup, leading to his disqualification. Shapovalov faces the big-hitting Argentine Juan Martín del Potro in the second round. Earlier on Tuesday, Czech Tomas Berdych, the number 10 seed, withdrew from the tournament prior to his first round match against Nikoloz Basilashvili citing a rib injury. "I am sorry I have to apologise all my Montreal fans. I couldn't play, because of my rib dysfunction I need to get well to go to (the) office soon," Berdych said on Twitter. His withdrawal led to a quick call to the lucky loser American Ernesto Escobedo, who had five minutes to prepare for the match, which he claimed with an upset 7-6(4) 6-4 victory. In other matches, Croatian Borna Coric defeated Russian Mikhail Youzhny 6-2 6-4 and Spaniard Feliciano Lopez defeated South Korean Chung Hyeon 6-1 4-6 7-6(3). (Reporting by Rory Carroll; Editing by Jeremy Gaunt and Ken Ferris)