Shapovalov’s outburst ends Davis Cup tie
Teen defaulted for hitting ball into umpire’s face, taking the shine off Pospisil’s gutsy effort
OTTAWA — Well, that was unexpected.
Denis Shapovalov defaulted the final rubber of the Canada-Great Britain Davis Cup tie on Sunday in Ottawa when he whacked a ball in anger and struck chair umpire Arnaud Gabas in the head after his serve was broken in the final set.
The 17-year-old left-hander from Richmond Hill, Ont., was already down two sets and down 2-1 in the third against Britain’s Kyle Edmund, the No. 47 player in the world rankings, but the misdeed resulted in immediate default.
It was an action that took the shine off what had been a good day for tennis in Canada. Vasek Pospisil of Vancouver extended the tie with a gritty performance in defeating Dan Evans 7-6 (3), 6-4, 3-6, 7-6 (5).
Great Britain will now face host France in April in the World Group quarter-finals of the annual international team tennis competition, while Canada must go through a playoff round in September.
The visitors came into the day with a 2-1 lead. Evans and Pospisil defeated Shapovalov and Edmund, respectively, in Friday singles, then Britain’s Jamie Murray and Dominic Inglot took the doubles against Canada’s Pospisil and Daniel Nestor on Saturday.
It didn’t look good for Pospisil when Evans ripped a backhand winner down the line to close out a service break in the third game of the opening set, then subsequently opened the Canadian’s next service game with a forehand winner down the other line and a backhand, cross-court winner to put Pospisil in an 0-30 hole.
However, the 26-year-old Pospisil rallied back to take that game and got the break back against Evans to even the set. By the time he recorded three aces and a service winner to seize a 5-4 lead, he had most of the Ottawa crowd in a cheery mood — raucous, even, but only when it was appropriate.
They were giddy by the time Evans netted a backhand volley to relinquish the final point of the ensuing first-set tiebreaker and beyond that after Pospisil broke his opponent’s serve in Game 3 of the second set, capped by a spectacular forehand return.
Evans dampened the mood with a break of his own in the next game, but Pospisil turned the trick again to reclaim his advantage. He then saved a couple of break points on the way to closing out the set 6-4.
The fiery Canadian produced another break in the third game of the next set, taking a 2-1 lead, but then lost his way with his serve in the sixth and eighth games of that set, which ended with Evans prevailing 6-3, and again in the first game of the fourth set.
At that point, it seemed as if fatigue was beginning to affect Pospisil, who was playing his third match in less than 48 hours on a sore left knee that was again taped for protective reasons. He also admitted to back and quad problems. Whatever it was, he continued to serve brilliantly even as he compiled groundstroke errors at a dangerous rate.
Pospisil found some magic, however, ripping a forehand return winner to break Evans and tie the set 3-3. It remained deadlocked, though not lacking in intrigue, to force another tiebreak. The Canadian fell behind 4-2, but won five of the next six points to clinch sweet victory.
Not bad at all, as it turned out, for someone who had been the tennis equivalent of a game-time decision because of his health concerns.
“It was 50-50. If I had woken up the way I had woken up (Saturday), I wouldn’t have played, 100 per cent,” Pospisil said.
“The concern was whether my knee would hold. It hurt in the fourth, fifth set like it did a little bit in the doubles (Saturday). It kind of came on late in the match and my serve vanished.
“So, it was kind of a risk that we took, but, because I felt good, it was a little bit more of a calculated risk. I had a really good treatment last night and I reacted well.”
Evans gave credit to his adversary.
“I felt in the match all the time,” the world No. 45 said. “But, when he was behind, he was serving so well. I don’t even know how many break points I had, and my conversion rate must have been just diabolical. I’ve got to give it to him. He played better than me today.”