Teenage world number 370 Denis Shapovalov handed over a surprise defeat to Nick Kyrgios in the Rogers Cup first round on Monday. The 17-year-old Canadian wildcard beat the Australian 11th seed 7-6 (7-2) 3-6 6-3 at the ATP 1000 event in Toronto. Shapovalov, the Wimbledon junior champion, miixed 37 winners with 34 unforced errors in his stunning victory.
Kyrgios ended up with 44 unforced errors and 18 double faults, which made him lose the match in one hour, 39 minutes. Shapovalov broke in the second game of the final set on his way to a 3-0 lead he would not relinquish. He will face Bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov in the second round.
"Not great, obviously," said Kyrgios, who was troubled by a sore knee but still unhappy with his lethargic showing. "I don't know. I just didn't play great." The Australian 11th seed somehow struck an ace as his racquet flew from his hand on one serve, but his 13 aces were out-numbered by 18 double faults. "I'm not going to tell you what I did or didn't do to prepare for this match. I just played pretty bad, but he played great and he earned it.
"Obviously he was excited playing in front of his home crowd. I know what it feels like to come off one of your biggest junior results and then play in one of your home tournaments." Shapovalov, playing in only his second ATP event, will take on Grigor Dimitrov, who is trying to claw his way back in what has been a disappointing season. The Bulgarian reached the second round with a 5-7, 7-6 (7/5), 6-4 win over Yuichi Sugita.
Three other seeds advanced, with number nine John Isner coming back to eliminate Dudi Sela 4-6, 6-3, 6-2. Australian 12th seed Bernard Tomic beat Alejandro Gonzalez 6-4, 7-6 (7/0) while Jack Sock, the number 16, defeated Denis Kudla 6-2, 6-2. Dimitrov, ranked 48th, got out of danger against Sugita after trailing a set and a break. Dimitrov, who lost six straight matches prior to Wimbledon, improved to 21-16 in 2016.
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