Shapovalov Out of Washington in Quarter-Finals Against Shelton

Denis Shapovalov’s best tournament in months came to a disappointing end on Friday at the Mubadala Citi Open in Washington D.C. as he went out in the quarter-finals against up-and-coming American Ben Shelton.

The tight affair went to two tiebreaks, but came to a surprising end when Shapovalov was defaulted already down triple match point a 3-6 in the second set breaker.

Both competitors came out eager to showcase their shot making skills. The 21-year-old Atlanta native hit a pair of highlight reel winners in the early stages, as the two traded holds of serve into the latter stages of the opening set.

Shapovalov seized the first break of the match to move ahead 6-5, though two costly double faults would gift back a game to the American, sending the opening set to a tiebreak.

There, Shelton seized an early 4-1 lead and would not relinquish the edge in the scoreboard. The American finished with an inside-out forehand winner to seal the opening set 7-6(5) in 56 minutes.

The second set saw the two competitors again utilize their heavy groundstrokes and potent serving. After eleven consecutive holds of serve, play was suspended due to rain with Shapovalov leading 6-5.

At the resumption of play, Shelton sent the action to a second set tiebreaker, and again took control.

Read more: Auger-Aliassime and Dabrowski win bronze in Paris

While the former world No. 10 found a passing shot winner to level the score at 3-all at the change of ends, Shelton ran off three consecutive points of his own to bring up match points.

At this stage, the 25-year-old was ruled for unsportsmanlike conduct, concluding the match in 2 hours and three minutes.

See: NBO Bracket Challenge

The controversial ending occurred as the Canadian was trailing 6-3 in a second set tiebreak and was called for an audible obscenity towards a fan in the stands.

The call, which even prompted intervention from the American, who insisted on continuing play, spoiled an otherwise blockbuster affair of talented left handers.

Despite the loss, it’s the 25-year-old’s first quarterfinal of 2024.

He now heads to Montreal to compete at the National Bank Open.