Canadian Denis Shapovalov lost sharply 6-4 and 6-1 to Frenchman Benjamin Bonzi in the round of 16 of the Mallorca Open on Wednesday.
Shapovalov, the 3rd seed of the tournament, lowered the flag in front of the 56th racket in the world after 1 h 07 min of play on the Spanish lawn.
The 23-year-old Ontarian was messy for much of the game, notably committing six double faults, against only two for his opponent. Bonzi also outperformed the Maple Leaf representative with his first serve.
Shapovalov lacked opportunism. He converted just one of his nine break points. In comparison, the Frenchman managed four breaks in five attempts.
Bonzi will now face in the quarter-finals the winner of the match between Argentina’s Sebastian Baez, the tournament’s 8th seed, and Germany’s Daniel Altmaier.
On the other hand, Nick Kyrgios withdrew from the tournament due to an abdominal injury, indicating in passing that he did not want to aggravate his injury on the eve of Wimbledon.
The Australian, 45th player in the world, confirmed his decision before his round of 16 match against Spaniard Roberto Bautista Agut.
I’ve played several tough games lately and unfortunately I woke up this morning with pain in my abdomen. I immediately visited the tournament doctor and he recommended me not to play tonight, explained Kyrgios. I will follow his recommendations, since I don’t want to risk having to miss Wimbledon next week.
The Australian was one of the headliners at Mallorca, as were favorites Daniil Medvedev and Stefanos Tsitsipas.
Tsitsipas started his tournament with a 6-4, 6-4 win over Ilya Ivashka, never facing a break point.
After my first serve, I regained my feelings and I mastered it better, explained the Greek. My opponent had a lot of difficulty adapting afterwards. My game was on point. That’s what I wanted to accomplish today. It was a good game, from start to finish.
Tsitsipas, the sixth seed, will face American Marcos Giron in the next round.
Medvedev will begin his run in the evening against Aslan Karatsev.
The Mallorca Open serves as a preparatory tournament for Wimbledon, which gets under way on June 27.
The Canadian Press
Source: Radio-Canada
