National Bank Open: Denis Shapovalov continues his bad habits

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Canadian Denis Shapovalov continues to search for answers after suffering a ninth failure in his last 10 outings on Tuesday at the National Bank Open in Montreal.

Returning to center court at Stade IGA to complete his first-round match against Australian Alex de Minaur, he went down 7-5, 7-6(4) after the tiebreaker was called off Monday night when the score was tied at 3-3.

However, the return to work was not pleasant for “Shapo”, since he committed a double fault on the -field. Then, a too-deep strike gave de Minaur two match points. The latter immediately capitalized on a backhand in the net to sign a third win in as many career duels against the maple leaf player.

Also, to say that Shapovalov is struggling is an understatement. His singles record this season is now 17-17; in addition, he had more success in doubles, winning 13 of his 22 clashes before the one scheduled for the evening, alongside Russian Karen Khachanov, against Indian Rohan Bopanna and Dutchman Matwe Middelkoop.

In solo, his only victory since the tournament in Rome last May was won with difficulty in the first round of Wimbledon. The Ontarian beat Frenchman Arthur Rinderknech in five sets.

As for the winner, he will face Bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov, who defeated Quebecer Alexis Galarneau, in the second round.