Shapovalov loses on tough day for Canadians at National Bank Open
MONTREAL
An opening double-fault. Two wayward backhands. Another mistake on match ball.
Denis Shapovalov’s rain-suspended match was over shortly after it resumed Tuesday afternoon as he dropped a 7-5, 7-6 (4) decision to Australia’s Alex de Minaur at the National Bank Open.
The players were in a tight battle a night earlier but rain forced a postponement with the tiebreaker tied at three. Shapovalov was hoping to force a decisive third set but instead was eliminated after just a few minutes on court.
“I haven’t had this exact experience before so it was tricky,” Shapovalov said.
The result capped a tough day for the Canadians in the 56-player singles draw. Vasek Pospisil dropped a 6-4, 6-4 decision to American Tommy Paul and 15th-seeded Bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov posted a 6-4, 7-5 win over Alexis Galarneau of Laval, Que.
That left sixth-seeded Felix AugerAliassime of Montreal as the last Canadian remaining in singles play. He had a firstround bye and will likely play his opening match Wednesday.
Groans could be heard at last Friday’s draw ceremony when de Minaur’s name was called out as Shapovalov’s first opponent.
At No. 21, de Minaur is one spot ahead of Shapovalov in the world rankings. The five-time winner on the ATP Tour had also beaten the Canadian in both previous meetings at the pro level.
De Minaur wasn’t fazed by Shapovalov’s power game during the match and was able to handle the left-hander’s wide serves. Tremendous retrieving skills helped blunt the Canadian’s aggressiveness and led to some mistakes.
“I think I did a lot of good things yesterday, I was playing some great points,” Shapovalov said. “I felt like I was starting to get some momentum in the match. I thought I was dictating and playing some good-level tennis.”
Shapovalov, from Richmond Hill, Ont., has recorded just one win since beating Rafael Nadal last May in Rome. He was scheduled to play doubles with Russia’s Karen Khachanov later in the day against India’s Rohan Bopanna and Matwe Middelkoop of the Netherlands.
Pospisil, meanwhile, had three break points in the final game of the opening set but was unable to convert. Paul went on to complete the victory in one hour 25 minutes.
“(It) just wasn’t one of my best matches for sure,” Pospisil said. “Tommy played his match. He didn’t play anything that was so exceptional that I couldn’t have given myself a better look. But yeah, wasn’t the best of matches. Had good moments, but not consistent.”
The native of Vernon, B.C., is entered in the doubles draw with Italy’s Jannik Sinner. Calgary native Cleeve Harper and Liam Draxl of Newmarket, Ont., are the other Canadians in the doubles field.