Shapovalov's losing streak reaches 5 matches with defeat at Queen's Club
Andreescu falls in Berlin; Auger-Aliassime through to quarter-finals at Halle Open
Canadian tennis player Denis Shapovalov had his losing streak extended to five matches Wednesday with a 6-4, 2-6, 6-4 loss to Tommy Paul at the Queen's Club grass-court event.
Shapovalov hasn't won since a May 12 upset of clay-court legend Rafael Nadal in the third round of the Italian Open.
The Canadian lost in the quarter-finals in Rome to then world No. 10 Casper Ruud.
He then dropped his first match of his next four tournaments to Ilya Ivashka of Belarus (ranked 50th); Denmark's Holger Rune (40), Germany's Oscar Otte (61) and Paul (35).
Shapovalov, from Richmond Hill, Ont., is ranked No. 15 in the world, but Wednesday's loss dropped his 2022 record to 16-13.
WATCH | Shapovalov falls to Paul in 3 sets:
He had 11 aces against Paul but made six double-faults.
Shapovalov broke Paul twice on nine chances. The American was more efficient with his opportunities, converting two of his four break chances.
The Queen's Club event is a warm-up for Wimbledon. The grass-court Grand Slam starts June 27 at London's All England Club.
Shapovalov was a semifinalist at Wimbledon last year.
Andreescu falls in Berlin
Also, fellow Canadian Bianca Andreescu was eliminated from the Berlin Open in the Round of 16 with a 4-6, 6-2, 6-7 (7) loss to fourth-seeded Karolina Pliskova.
The unseeded Andreescu, playing in her first grass tournament of the season, used three sets to beat the Czech Republic's Katerina Siniakova in the first round.
Pliskova, who hit 17 aces against Kaia Kanepi in the first round, added 12 more against Andreescu, though she had to fight back from a break down in the third set before prevailing in two hours, 11 minutes.
WATCH | Andreescu drops marathon match to Pliskova:
The 30-year-old Pliskova is bidding for her first title of the year. She was the runner-up at Wimbledon a year ago.
Andreescu, from Mississauga, Ont., had 11 break-point chances in the match, converting four. Pliskova was successful on three of her six break chances.
It was the third career meeting between the two, with the previous two matchups coming in 2019.
Andreescu defeated Pliskova in the quarter-finals of the 2019 Rogers Cup in Toronto en route to winning the event. The two months later, the Canadian retired with an injury in a first-round match with Pliskova at the WTA Finals.
Auger-Aliassime advances at Halle Open
Meanwhile, Canadian tennis star Felix Auger-Aliassime rode a dominant second set to a 7-6 (7), 6-1 victory over American Mackenzie McDonald at the Halle Open.
Auger-Aliassime overcame 15 unforced errors, most of them coming in the first set, with 15 aces and 41 winners.
WATCH | Auger-Aliassime advances to Halle Open quarters:
The Montreal native, seeded fourth at Halle and ranked ninth in the world, broke McDonald three times in the second set, with the last coming in the final game of the match.
Auger-Aliassime saved the only break point he faced.
Both players held serve throughout the first set to set up the tiebreak, which McDonald led 7-6 before Auger-Aliassime won the next three points — the first two on return.
That momentum carried over into the second set, where Auger-Aliassime won six straight games after McDonald opened with a hold.
Auger-Aliassime will face fifth seed Hubert Hurkacz of Poland in the quarter-finals of the ATP 500 grass-court event. Auger-Aliassime leads the career series between the players 2-0.
With files from CBC Sports and The Associated Press
