Tennis
Denis Shapovalov falls to Reilly Opelka in third round
(Indian Wells) Canadian Denis Shapovalov was eliminated in the third round of the Indian Wells Tennis Open on Monday.
In the aftermath of Félix Auger-Aliassime’s surprise defeat at the hands of Dutchman Botic van de Zandschulp, Shapovalov let slip a set lead to zero before losing 6-7 (4), 6-4, 6- 4 against the American giant Reilly Opelka.
Against a rival renowned for the power of his serves, Shapovalov dominated in terms of aces, 12 against 11. On the other hand, he committed 10 double faults against only one on the part of Opelka.
Shapovalov, who got a bye straight into the second round, also gave himself more break chances than his opponent. However, Opelka saved all four break points he faced.
In addition, the American was able to exploit two of his three break chances. He first broke the service of the Canadian in the third game of the second set, Opelka repeated the blow to Shapovalov in the opening game of the deciding set.
It was Shapovalov and Opelka’s second career encounter. In January, in the third round of the Australian Open, Shapovalov won in four sets.
Later Monday, Laval’s Leylah Annie Fernandez, 18and seeded will face American Shelby Rogers in a third round match.
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Sophia Jhon is a sports journalist and author. He has worked as a news editor for Sportish and is now a sport columnist for the same publication. Alberta’s professional interests lie largely in sports news, with an emphasis on English football. He has also written articles on other sporting topics.