Shapovalov loses in 3rd round

TORONTO — Denis Shapovalov had high hopes heading into this year’s Rogers Cup.

He wanted to hear the cheers from the hometown crowd. He wanted to entertain his fans on centre court. And he wanted to build on the success he enjoyed at last year’s tournament in Montreal, where he broke onto the tennis scene with huge upset wins over top-ranked opponents.

The Canadian teenager fell short of that last goal Thursday night, falling 7-5, 6-2 in a quick and uncharacteristic third-round loss to Robin Haase of the Netherlands.

Shapovalov, the highest-ranked Canadian in the men’s singles draw at No. 26, had trouble with his serve throughout the match on centre court, which lasted just one hour 16 minutes. He was broken four times and had six double faults, including four in the first set.

In women’s doubles on Thursday, Genie Bouchard of Westmount, Que., teamed with U.S. Open champ Sloane Stephens to reach the quarterfinals with a 6-0, 6-4 win over Kirsten Flipkens and Daria Gavrilova.

“We get along well,” said Bouchard, who lost in the first round of singles. “She hits some big forehands and I love that . . . makes my life easier.”

They will next play second seeds Latisha Chan of Taiwan and Ekaterina Makarova of Russia.

Meanwhile, it was announced Thursday that Vasek Pospisil, who was raised in Vernon but relocated to Vancouver in 2002, will return to play in the Odlum Brown VanOpen, set for Aug. 11-19 at the Hollyburn Country Club in West Vancouver. Pospisil won the VanOpen men’s singles title in 2013.