WATCH: Denis Shapovalov affectionately greets girlfriend Mirjam Bjorklund after her maiden WTA 1000 win at Miami Open 2023
Denis Shapovalov was present on Court 1 to witness his girlfriend Mirjam Bjorklund win her maiden WTA 1000 match at the 2023 Miami Open. It was also her debut in the main draw of a WTA 1000 tournament, following which, her partner embraced her.
Turning pro in 2017, World No. 149 Bjorklund entered the ongoing event as a qualifier and beat Ysaline Bonaventure and Tamara Zidansek to enter the main draw. The Swedish player's opponent in the round of 128 was 71st-ranked Jasmine Paolini of Italy.
The 24-year-old registered a memorable victory as she came from behind to defeat Paolini 4-6, 6-4, 6-4 in two hours and 22 minutes. She faces an uphill task in the second round, where 2017 French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko awaits her.
World No. 30 Shapovalov and Bjorklund started dating in June 2019. The Canadian took to social media to share a video of the match point after his girlfriend registered her first big win.
"Let's go," Shapovalov tweeted.
🏼
twitter.com/wta/status/163…
Let’s gooo 💪🏼💜 twitter.com/wta/status/163…
Calling Bjorklund "one of the hardest workers," the 23-year-old expressed his excitement and stated that he was proud of her performance.
"One of the hardest workers I know. So proud. Let's go @mirjambjorklund," Denis Shapovalov wrote.
Venus Williams thanks Denis Shapovalov for supporting equal pay for women and men
A day before International Women's Day (March 8), Denis Shapovlaov penned down his thoughts on the gender pay gap that exists in tennis, calling it "unfortunate".
"When I started out, I kind of assumed that male and female pros were treated the same way," Shapovalov wrote. "Unfortunately, it seems that if you are a female player, your chances of surviving as a pro are a lot lower … because you are a woman. You should be given the same opportunities regardless of gender, color, race … regardless of anything."
Seven-time Grand Slam champion Venus Williams recently reacted to the Canadian's article and thanked him for voicing his opinion.
"Really moving article, thank you @denis.shapovalov for supporting equity for women," Williams wrote on her Instagram stories.
Shapovalov also expressed gratitude towards the legendary player for supporting him.
"Means a lot!! Thanks Venus."
Denis Shapovalov hasn't had the best start to his ATP season, losing five of the 11 matches that he has played so far. At the 2023 BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, he received a bye in the first round and fell to World No. 78 Ugo Humbert of France in the second round.
He is the 24th seed at the 2023 Miami Open and has once again received a bye in the opening round. His second-round opponent will be either Argentina's Guido Pella or Peru's Juan Pablo Varillas.