“Today’s loss was just pure craziness”: Denis Shapovalov frustrated after another opening-round defeat at Canadian Open

Denis Shapovalov expressed his frustration after an early exit from the Canadian Open, despite arriving on a high after winning the Los Cabos Open title. The former top-10 player had strung together four consecutive wins to claim the fourth title of his career and his second of the season.

"Shapo" continues to try and contend for major titles and remains a significant name on the Tour. The 26-year-old had guaranteed his return to the top 30 after a great week in Mexico and was hoping to show a good level of play again at his home Masters 1000, where only one local player is now left.

Despite being the 22nd seed, Denis Shapovalov faced a tough draw in his debut against 19-year-old Learner Tien, a player who has accumulated wins against Tour heavyweights throughout the season, including Daniil Medvedev, Alexander Zverev, Ben Shelton, and Andrey Rublev. The American was better in the key moments of a tight match and ultimately took the victory 7-6(4), 7-5.

The Canadian Open seemed like an ideal stage for Shapovalov to make a deep run in a major tournament. He has not made it past the third round of a Masters 1000 since the Rome Open in 2022, a tournament where he reached the quarterfinals. Shapovalov has fallen in his opening match at the Canadian Open in his last four appearances, and hasn't secured a win there since 2019.

The curious thing is that Shapovalov made a name for himself at this very tournament back in 2017, when it was also held in Toronto. After receiving a wildcard, he advanced to the semifinals, defeating opponents like Juan Martin Del Potro and then-world No. 1 Rafael Nadal, when Shapo was only 18. Much was expected of the Canadian who has never quite made the leap to establish himself among the world's best.

Expectations were high for what he could do this year in Toronto, but it was once again an early defeat for Shapovalov, who admitted he never felt comfortable on the court. "Honestly, today's loss was probably just pure craziness. I was a little nervous today, I didn't feel comfortable on the court. Today I just couldn't connect. But hey, you know, these things happen. It's a shame, of course."

"Obviously it's an important tournament. I actually try to treat it like any other Masters 1000. But yes, the last few times I played in Toronto, I didn't feel comfortable on the court and it was difficult. Obviously, I had a lot of success in Montreal and I like this court. Here, it was a little more complicated. But, then again, it didn't turn out the way I wanted today, but I feel like I didn't let myself get beaten; I lost today... That's tennis, it happens very often."

The local players have lost most of their representatives in the first two rounds, leaving only Gabriel Diallo alive in the Round of 32. The young Canadian continues to be the face of his country, and after earning a seed (27th), he debuted in the second round by defeating Italy's Matteo Gigante in straight sets. He will face second seed Taylor Fritz this Friday, aiming to remain the only Canadian left in the tournament.

In addition to Shapovalov's elimination at the hands of Tien, Felix Auger-Aliassime (21st seed) was also defeated. He debuted in the second round against Hungary's Fábián Marozsán, also falling in straight sets.

Qualifier Dan Martin could do little against Jaume Munar (6-3, 6-0), as was the case for wildcard Liam Draxl, who lost to veteran Spaniard Pablo Carreño Busta. Veteran Vasek Pospisil, who was playing his final tournament as a professional, put up a good fight against Argentina's Facundo Bagnis but ultimately lost 6-2, 3-6, 6-3.

Wildcard Nicolas Arseneault had a golden debut, securing his first victory in a Masters 1000 main draw by defeating qualifier Valentin Royer (6-3, 7-6) in the first round. However, his journey ended in the second round, where he was defeated by Alexei Popyrin (18th seed) in straight sets.

Similarly, Alexis Galarneau received a wildcard and debuted against France's Arthur Rinderknech, defeating him in straight sets. However, he ended up falling in the second round to 13th seed Flavio Cobolli.