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Shapovalov loses in first round on tough day for Canadians at National Bank Open

Canada's Denis Shapovalov walks off the court after losing to Alex de Minaur of Australia during first round of play at the National Bank Open tennis tournament Tuesday August 9, 2022 in Montreal. (THE CANADIAN PRESS/Paul Chiasson) Canada's Denis Shapovalov walks off the court after losing to Alex de Minaur of Australia during first round of play at the National Bank Open tennis tournament Tuesday August 9, 2022 in Montreal. (THE CANADIAN PRESS/Paul Chiasson)
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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 Auger-Aliassime of Montreal as the last Canadian remaining in singles play. He had a first-round 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.

The start of Tuesday's opening session was delayed about 90 minutes due to wet weather. Another rain delay forced a 20-minute pause in the afternoon.

Australia's Nick Kyrgios, who was victorious last week in Washington, beat Argentina's Sebastian Baez 6-4, 6-4 to set up an intriguing second-round matchup with top-ranked Daniil Medvedev of Russia.

Marin Cilic, the No. 13 seed, defeated fellow Croatian Borna Coric 6-3, 6-2. Other seeded players to advance were No. 14 Roberto Bautista Agut of Spain and No. 17 Gael Monfils of France.

The lone upset in afternoon play saw Spain's Pablo Carreno Busta surprise 11th-seeded Matteo Berrettini 6-3, 6-2.

British wild-card Andy Murray, who was ranked world No. 1 by the Association of Tennis Professionals for 41 straight weeks in 2016, couldn't find that old magic against 10th-seeded Taylor Fritz of San Diego in the feature evening match.

Fritz made quick work of the 35-year-old Murray, winning 6-1, 6-3.

In men's doubles, Shapovalov and Russian partner Karen Khachanov lost a tough three-match set in 86 minutes to Rohan Bopanna of India and Matwe Middelkoop of the Netherlands 7-6(5), 4-6, 10-6.

The US$6.57-million tournament continues through Sunday.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 9, 2022.

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