Denis Shapovalov couldn’t shake Jan-Lennard Struff and lost 3:6, 4:6, 7:6 (2) in the quarterfinal duel between Canada and Germany at the Davis Cup in Malaga, Spain, on Thursday.
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That first setback, decided in 2h 05m, leaves the Maple Leafs 1-0 behind while requiring two wins to progress.
Shapovalov multiplied the errors in this match. He committed 10 double faults that partially negated the advantage of his 18 aces, in addition to 24 unforced errors. Notably, he let through a ball he believed was offside before falling in goal when his opponent capitalized on a break point in the third inning.
However, “Shapo” showed resilience, using his fifth break point of the game to return to equal service in the ninth game of the final set while Struff (152′) served for the match. But he was never in the game in the tie-break.
For Struff it is also the sixth win in nine duels against “Shapo”.
This puts Germany in the lead in this duel, so one more win is enough to take Italy into the semi-finals. Félix Auger-Aliassime should be in action for the next singles game and a doubles game will serve as a tiebreaker if necessary.