Shapovalov shunted out of Australian Open by Tsonga
Canadian had commanding lead in fifth set
MELBOURNE, Australia — Denis Shapovalov’s run at the Australian Open is over.
The teen sensation from Richmond Hill, Ont., suffered a stunning collapse in the final set and fell to No. 15 seed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga 3-6, 6-3, 1-6, 7-6 (4), 7-5 in their second-round match Wednesday.
Shapovalov held a 5-2 lead in the fifth and deciding set, but Tsonga won the last five games to take the match.
Also Wednesday, on the women’s side, second-seeded Caroline Wozniacki come back from 5-1 down in the third set and saved two match points to beat Jana Fett 3-6, 6-2, 7-5 in the second round.
Fett is ranked 119th and was making her first appearance in the main singles draw of a Grand Slam tournament.
Wozniacki twice broke Fett’s service while the Croatian player was serving for the match, including the two match points in the seventh game. Wozniacki then broke Fett’s service in the 11th game, helped by a Fett double-fault on break point and an unforced error by the Croatian that ended a 26-point rally.
She then held serve, clinching it on her first match point when Fett netted a backhand, giving her a sixgame winning streak to end the match.
Two days after her upset win over Venus Williams, Belinda Bencic bowed out of the Australian Open.
Bencic was on a high after beating 2017 finalist Williams on the centre court in the first round, but started flatly on Hisense Arena on Wednesday and lost 6-1, 6-3 to powerful-hitting Thai qualifier Luksika Kumkhum.
The 20-year-old Swiss, who combined with Roger Federer to win the Hopman Cup before the season’s first major, saved three match points on her serve before netting a backhand to give No. 124th-ranked Kumkhum a spot in the third round for the first time.
“I tried to reset and focus on the next match,” Bencic said.
“I think it was also a very tough second round — for me, the toughest I could get. I played her a couple of times and it’s just very difficult for me to play her.
“I’m pretty positive. … I made it here to the main draw, beat Venus. It was much better than I ever imagined, so there is no reason for me to be negative now.”
Meanwhile, Montreal’s Eugenie Bouchard advanced to the second round of the tournament Tuesday with a 6-3, 7-6 (5) win over France’s Oceane Dodin.
Bouchard will face top-seeded Simona Halep next.
Peter Polansky of Thornhill, Ont., joined Milos Raonic on the sidelines after losing his first round match in three sets to Karen Khachanov of Russia 7-6 (3), 7-6 (2), 6-4. Wimbledon champion and third-seeded Garbine Muguruza started her quest for the No. 1 ranking with a 6-4, 6-3 win over Jessika Ponchet, a player ranked 253 spots below her.
Fourth-seeded Elina Svitolina rallied to reach the third round with a 4-6, 6-2, 6-1 win over Katerina Siniakova of the Czech Republic.
Six-time champion Novak Djokovic and 2014 Australian Open winner Stan Wawrinka stuck to business, returning from long injury layoffs with victories in their first matches since Wimbledon. Federer, the defending champion, had an easy run in his first-round match, beating Aljaz Bedene 6-3, 6-4, 6-3 as he began his quest for his 20th grand slam singles title. Marin Cilic defeated Joao Sousa 6-1, 7-5, 6-2 and Dominic Thiem beat Guido Pella 6-4, 6-4, 6-4. The Associated Press