Canada's Denis Shapovalov serves to USA's Brandon Nakashima during first round play at the National Bank Open tennis in Montreal, Aug. 7. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Ryan Remiorz
BASEL, Switzerland – Canada’s Denis Shapovalov was eliminated from the Swiss Indoors tennis tournament Friday with a hard-fought 6-7 (7) 6-3, 7-6 (3) quarterfinal loss to France’s Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard.
Mpetshi Perricard dominated the deciding tiebreak, racing out to a 6-2 lead before winning with an ace on his second match point.
The 21-year-old Frenchman put on a serving masterclass in the match, firing 27 aces and winning 75 per cent of service points, including 81 per cent on first serve. He saved all three break points he faced.
Shapovalov, from Richmond Hill, Ont., also served well with seven aces. While he was accurate on just 57 per cent of his first serve, he won 80 per cent of those points and a solid 65 per cent of points on his second serve.
Shapovalov twice saved set point in the first-set tiebreak before taking set point on serve when Mpetshi Perricard hit into an unforced error.
Mpetshi Perricard came back in the second set, scoring the only break of the match to go up 3-1, then giving up just three points on serve while firing five aces the rest of the set.
Shapovalov had a chance to avoid the third-set tiebreak but failed to convert a break point while leading the set 4-3.
Mpetshi Perricard, ranked 50th in the world, advanced to the quarterfinal by defeating two-time defending champion Felix Auger-Aliassime of Montreal in the second round.
He will face fourth seed Holger Rune of Denmark in the semifinals of the ATP 500 event.
Shapovalov, a former world top-10 now ranked 95th, was looking to advance to his first semifinal of the year.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 25, 2024.
