Denis Shapovalov’s comeback bid came up just short at the ATP Next Gen Finals on Thursday afternoon.
Shapovalov fell behind Andrey Rublev and was on the brink of elimination heading into the fourth set before the 18-year-old Canadian rallied to force a fifth set. But Rublev recovered and ultimately came away with the victory, topping Shapovalov, 4-1, 3-4, 4-3, 0-4, 4-3.
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The loss eliminated Shapovalov from the tournament in Milan, Italy.
Shapovalov dropped his opener at the Next Gen Finals to Hyeon Chung but defeated Gianluigi Quinzi on Wednesday. Shapovalov would have advanced to the tournament’s semifinal round with a win over Rublev.
Match of the week? Maybe. @denis_shapo and @AndreyRublev97 take to stage. At stake: a spot in the semi-finals #NextGenATP pic.twitter.com/5UgRCXGeVt
— Next Gen ATP Finals (@nextgenfinals) November 9, 2017
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Shapovalov burst onto the national scene when he advanced to the semifinals of the Rogers Cup in mid-August. He followed that by notching an upset victory over Jo-Wilfried Tsonga at the U.S. Open, before ultimately being eliminated by Pablo Carreno Busta.
Shapovalov is currently No. 51 in the ATP rankings.