Denis Shapovalov comes up short on home court at NBO

Open this photo in gallery: Denis Shapovalov hits a ball to Learner Tien during the second round of the National Bank Open at Sobeys Stadium in Toronto.John E. Sokolowski/Reuters

Canada’s Denis Shapovalov lost out in his first match at the National Bank Open Tuesday night, another blow for a Canadian tournament that is already missing many of the world’s top tennis stars.

The 26-year-old from Richmond Hill, Ont. who was seeded No. 22 and got a bye through the first round, lost to 19-year-old American Learner Tien, 7-6(4), 7-5 in his opening match.

“Today’s loss was probably completely mental…I had both sets in my hands, so just kind of let them slip,” said the Canadian. “Just felt nervous a bit today. Didn’t really feel comfortable on the court.”

Losing a hometown player so early is another tough break for the Toronto event, which is already missing several big ATP players. Four of the top six ranked players did not come: World No. 1 Jannik Sinner, No. 2 Carlos Alcaraz, 24-time Grand Slam champion Novak Djokovic and world No. 5 Jack Draper all pulled out. Rising teen phenom Joao Fonseca lost his first-round match on Monday.

Canadians Felix Auger-Aliassime and Gabriel Diallo are still to play their first singles matches on Wednesday. Shapovalov and Auger-Aliassime will team up in the doubles draw.

Shapovalov has not won a match at the ATP Masters 1000 tournament in Canada since 2019. This is his eighth time playing the event. His best performance remains his 2017 run to the semi-finals in Montreal.

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Canada’s second-ranked ATP player (behind Auger-Aliassime) arrived to his hometown tournament on a four-match win streak. That included a title in Los Cabos, Mexico, his fourth tour-level win and second of this season. Shapovalov did not drop a set while earning that ATP 250 trophy.

Shapovalov also won an ATP 500 title in Dallas back in February. Yet he hasn’t yet made a deep run at any of the Grand Slams or 1000-level tournaments this season.

Open this photo in gallery: Shapovalov reacts during his straight sets defeat to Learner Tien.Chris Young/The Canadian Press

Shapovalov looked in control of the first set early, before Tien (the World No. 61) stole the momentum in the first-ever match between the two lefties and snatched the set in a tiebreak. It was midway through the second set before the mostly full house at Sobey’s Stadium had reason for a real hearty cheer, as the Canadian broke the American and let out one of his fiery screams.

That began the first round of chants for the local player. But little errors were Shapovalov’s undoing. There were gentle shots dropped just a touch too softly. He had eight double faults. The Canadian had 23 unforced errors to his less experienced opponent’s 11.

Shapovalov said the last couple times he played in Toronto, he hasn’t felt comfortable on the court. He says he’s felt more comfortable in Montreal.

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“It’s a pretty open stadium, so it’s pretty swirly out there. My feet weren’t adjusting great to the ball today,” said Shapovalov. “I don’t know about the surface. I did feel like sometimes it was skidding, sometimes it was jumping. … it’s a personal thing, you know, I just didn’t feel comfortable on it this year, and it just it felt tough to play my game on the court.”

Shapovalov has never been able to duplicate the level of excitement he generated during his early appearances at the Canadian tournament. He earned his first career ATP Tour win in Toronto in 2016, knocking off then-World No. 19 Nick Kyrgios. He created one of the most beloved Canadian tennis memories when he stunned then World No.2 Rafael Nadal in the 2017 edition in Montreal and advanced to the semi-finals, were he lost to Alexander Zverev.

“It sucks,” said Shapovalov of the loss. “Obviously it’s an important tournament.”

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