Frustrated Shapovalov vows to 'keep working' after 1st-round loss at French Open
Falls in straight sets to Denmark's Holger Rune; 3 other Canadians play Wednesday
Canada's Denis Shapovalov has been bounced from the French Open.
The product of Richmond Hill, Ont., lost to Denmark's Holger Rune 6-3, 6-1, 7-6 (4) in the Grand Slam tournament's first round.
Shapovalov was the 14th seed headed into the clay-court event and Rune was unseeded.
It was the first time the 23-year-old Shapovalov played the 19-year-old Rune, who is ranked 40th in the world.
"It was difficult. For sure I wasn't able to bring out my best performance. It's definitely frustrating," Shapovalov said. "But yeah, it just shows I have a lot to work on. And I'm just excited to get back to work. Never think I'm done learning and improving. So, yeah, it's difficult moment, but I just keep working."
WATCH | Shapovalov ousted at French Open:
Shapovalov had six aces to Rune's none in the match Tuesday, but the teenager was dominant in virtually all other categories.
Rune had a better win percentages on first and second serve, he took five of nine break points, and won 64 service points to Shapovalov's 46.
Shapovalov committed 53 unforced errors to Rune's 19, and the Canadian's six aces were cancelled out by six double faults.
Shapovalov fought back in the third set to force a tiebreaker but fell behind 3-1 and couldn't recover, sending a forehand wide on match point.
Rune won French Open jr. title in 2019
Rune, a rising star on the ATP tour, won the BMW Open this month and was a semifinalist in Lyon last week.
"This is what you work for every day to be able to play the biggest tournaments. And to play these kind of players like Denis also is great for me. It's amazing level. I'm super happy and pleased to be in this position right now," said Rune. "To be able to have chances against these guys, to be able to, you know, win my first title in Munich was a huge step forward in my career. I'm really positive and working hard every day to get better."
Rune won the French Open junior championship in 2019.
The Dane defeated world No. 3 Alexander Zverev en route to his first tour title in Munich.
Three Canadians are still competing at the French Open and will see action in Round 2 on Wednesday.
Bianca Andreescu, of Mississauga, Ont., will meet No. 14 seed Belinda Bencic of Switzerland, Montreal's Leylah Fernandez, the tournament's 17th seed, will play Czech Katerina Siniakova, while ninth seeded Felix Auger-Aliassime, also of Montreal, meets Argentine qualifier Camilo Ugo Carabelli.
Medvedev, Tsitsipas advance
Daniil Medvedev got his French Open off to a winning start — never a sure thing for the second-seeded Russian.
The U.S. Open champion beat Facundo Bagnis of Argentina 6-2, 6-2, 6-2 on Court Suzanne Lenglen.
Medvedev was a quarter-finalist at Roland Garros last year after four straight losses in the first round.
The Russian earned his first victory since undergoing hernia surgery nearly two months ago. He had lost his opening-round match at the Geneva Open last week on his return.
Medvedev reached the final at the Australian Open this year, losing to Rafael Nadal in five sets.
2021 French Open runner-up Stefanos Tsitsipas dropped the opening two sets before getting past Lorenzo Musetti 5-7, 4-6, 6-2, 6-3, 6-2 at Court Philippe Chatrier as the calendar flipped from Tuesday to Wednesday and the temperature dipped to about 10 C.
A year ago, Tsitsipas blew a two-set lead in the final against Novak Djokovic.
Fans, greats salute retiring Tsonga
A teary Jo-Wilfried Tsonga said goodbye to professional tennis on Tuesday, losing on his home court at the French Open.
Tsonga, 37, had announced earlier the tournament would be the last of his 18-year career, and he went out with a battle, giving eighth-seeded Casper Ruud of Norway all he could handle in a 6-7 (6), 7-6 (4), 6-2, 7-6 (0) match.
The appreciative crowd at Roland Garros cheered on Tsonga throughout the match, and at the conclusion gave him a standing ovation.
He retires with 18 ATP tour titles and about $22.5 million US in career earnings. He reached No. 5 in the world in February 2012 but playing in an era with four of the all-time greats, he never won a Grand Slam title. In his only opportunity, he lost to Novak Djokovic in the 2008 Australian Open final.
Because of injuries, Tsonga played in only 16 tour events since the start of 2020.
On Tuesday, Ruud fought back tears in his on-court interview as he talked about Tsonga.
"You've been an inspiration to me and so many of the other players, so thank you for the memories," Ruud said. "[I have] so many good memories watching Jo on TV. He's such a great guy [and] nice person on and off the court. He's a good example of what a player should be."
Following the match, there was an on-court ceremony to pay tribute to Tsonga. His contemporaries — Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer, Andy Murray and Rafael Nadal — recorded messages for him that played during the ceremony.
"You've achieved so much with so many highlights," Murray said in his message to Tsonga. "You've been a great ambassador for the sport. I always love watching you play and competing against you, so you're going to be sorely missed."
In other matches:
-
Third-seeded Paula Badosa needed just 54 minutes to beat wild-card entry Fiona Ferro 6-2, 6-0 at Roland Garros. The 24-year-old Badosa lost only two points in the second set as she looks to build on her run to the quarter-finals at last year's French Open.
-
11th-seeded Jessica Pegula of the United States also reached the second round with a 6-2, 6-4 victory over Qiang Wang of China.
-
2017 champion Jelena Ostapenko, 2018 champion Simona Halep and No. 9 Danielle Collins are the other women who advanced to the second round.
With files from Field Level Media
