ATP Cup 2020: Canada falls to Serbia in quarterfinals after epic Shapovalov-Djokovic encounter

Rudi Schuller

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ATP Cup 2020: Canada falls to Serbia in quarterfinals after epic Shapovalov-Djokovic encounter image

Canada fell in two straight matches to Serbia in the quarterfinals of the 2020 ATP Cup, ending its run in the inaugural tournament.

Represented by Felix Auger-Aliassime and Denis Shapovalov in the singles portion of the tie Friday in Sydney, Australia, the Canadians faced down a Serbian team that featured 34th-ranked Dusan Lajovic and No. 2 Novak Djokovic. Auger-Aliassime was looking to rebound from a pair of losses in the lead-up to the tie, but he couldn't overcome his recent woes and fell to Lajovic in straight sets.

In what may have been the match of the tournament, Shapovalov went the distance with 16-time Grand Slam champion Djokovic, losing in an epic two-hour, 40-minute contest that required a tiebreak.

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The singles results rendered moot the third and final match of the tie, a doubles contest between Canada's Peter Polansky and Adil Shamasdin vs. Serbian duo Nikola Cacic and Viktor Troicki.

Here's how the action played out for Auger-Aliassime and Shapovalov against their Serbian foes:

Felix Auger-Aliassime loses 6-4, 6-2 to Dusan Lajovic

The 19-year-old Montreal native lost four consecutive sets leading up to his match with Lajovic, and his struggles continued against the veteran Serb. Despite showing glimpses of his powerful serve, Auger-Aliassime also dealt with inconsistency; he had 10 aces and five double-faults. His first-serve win percentage was 69 to Lajovic's 74, and the disparity was even worse on second-serve points won (30 to 53).

What really did Auger-Aliassime in were the 11 break-point opportunities he gave up, with Lajovic converting three of them. On the flip side, Auger-Aliassime only saw three chances at breaking his opponent's serve, all unconverted.

The end result was a third successive singles loss for the Canadian, each coming in straight sets.

Denis Shapovalov loses 4-6, 6-1, 7-6(4) to Novak Djokovic

The 20-year-old Shapovalov faced a daunting task in playing the world's No. 2 player while needing a win to keep his country alive in the competition. Shapo stepped up to the challenge in a big way, but in the end, he came up just short.

Shapovalov went toe-to-toe with Djokovic from the outset, with both men relying on dominant serves in the opening set. Neither player topped 35 percent in return points won in the first frame.

With each player serving confidently, Shapovalov found the first break point at 4-4 to destablize an uncharacteristically tentative Djokovic en route to claiming the opening set.

There's a reason why the 32-year-old Serb has nearly 900 career wins to his name, however, and it's not because he's easily rattled. Djokovic went about his business in the second set, matching his younger opponent shot-for-shot through the opening stages before converting a break point at 2-1 to put pressure on the Canadian. The raucous fans in Sydney were firmly behind the Belgrade native, sometimes disruptively so, much to the chagrin of Shapovalov — and the umpire.

With emotions running high, Djokovic calmly broke Shapovalov's serve again to take command of the second set and eventually force a decider.

The third set went much the way of the opener, with both men trading games, until Djokovic got the upper hand by converting a break point at 4-4. Shapovalov responded by immediately returning the favour, consolidating at 5-5 to keep the match going.

In the tiebreak, Djokovic leaned on his experience to get past the Canadian and seal the tie for Serbia.

Rudi Schuller