Tennis player Denis Shapovalov fails to advance past the initial match.
Fifth-seeded Shapovalov Faces Early Exit at Stuttgart Grass-Court Tourney
Denis Shapovalov's tennis journey in the Stuttgart grass-court tournament hit a speed bump yesterday as he lost to Arthur Rinderknech in a nail-biting 3-set drama. The match lasted 1 hour and 42 minutes, with the Frenchman coming out on top 6-4, 2-6, 6-0, sending the 29-year-old Ontarian packing. This marks Shapovalov's second defeat against Rinderknech, whose current world ranking stands at 81st.
Shapovalov's serve performance was less than stellar, recording nine double faults compared to Rinderknech's three, and his ace count was only half that of his opponent. The service game proved to be Rinderknech's territory, with the Frenchman outperforming Shapovalov in both the first and second serves. Shapovalov converted two out of his five break-point opportunities, while Rinderknech cashed in on four out of seven.
Despite the two players ending the match with an equal number of winners, Shapovalov racked up more unforced errors (28-18). The third set was a one-sided affair, with Shapovalov failing to hold his serve in the first, third, and fifth games, ultimately leading to his defeat.
Meanwhile, later today in 's-Hertogenbosch, Montreal's Gabriel Diallo and his partner, Ugo Humbert, will kick off the men's doubles competition against Dutchman Sem Verbeek and Croatian Ivan Dodig.
In the same event, Diallo will also lock horns with sixth seed Australian Jordan Thompson in the round of 16 of the singles tournament tomorrow. Quebec's Felix Auger-Aliassime will start his singles campaign in Stuttgart on Wednesday against Frenchman Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard, fresh off his victory over Russian Roman Safiullin in the first round.
In the women's draw, Ontario's Bianca Andreescu begins her singles campaign in 's-Hertogenbosch today against Chinese Taipei's Joanna Garland. Andreescu, the 2019 US Open champion, will also team up with compatriot Carson Branstine in the women's doubles competition tomorrow, taking on Hungarian duo Fanny Stollar and Irina Khromacheva, the second seeds, in the second round.
Interestingly, Shapovalov maintains the upper hand in his recent career head-to-head matchups against Rinderknech, with a 2-1 advantage in their professional meetings. Their last contest took place at Wimbledon in 2022, with Shapovalov clinching a hard-fought victory: 6-1, 6-7(6), 6-7(4), 6-4, 6-1. On grass courts, Shapovalov remains unbeaten against Rinderknech, with a 1-0 record.
Tennis fans might be disappointed as Denis Shapovalov, who recently faced an early exit at the Stuttgart grass-court tournament, lost to Arthur Rinderknech, marking his second loss to his opponent in sports. Meanwhile, Shapovalov and his tennis counterpart, Rinderknech, have had a history on grass courts, with Shapovalov maintaining an unbeaten record against him.
