Australian Open 2018: Shapovalov takes Tsonga to the brink in Round of 64 loss

Rudi Schuller

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Australian Open 2018: Shapovalov takes Tsonga to the brink in Round of 64 loss image

Deep into the fifth set, it looked like Denis Shapovalov was going to best Jo-Wilfried Tsonga again.

Shapovalov, the 18-year-old Canadian phenom, defeated Tsonga in straight sets in the second round of last year's U.S. Open, and on Tuesday night at the Austrailian Open it appeared that the youngster was on his way to claiming another victory against the 32-year-old veteran.

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The two players traded 6-3 victories in the first two sets of their Round of 64 match before Shapovalov eased to a 6-1 third-set win. The teenager's tireless energy and sublime backhand looked to be too much to handle for Tsonga, but the Frenchman grinded out a fourth-set win via a tiebreak to bring the match to the maximum five sets.

Once there, the younger Shapovalov looked to be cruising to another famous victory over his much older opponent. Shapovalov jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the final set, and maintained the three-game advantage at 4-1 and 5-2. At that point many in attendance in Melbourne could've been forgiven for believing the match was as good as over.

However, there was still some fight left in the veteran, and Tsonga stormed back to win five straight games to stun his younger opponent and claim the victory.

Sporting News provided live updates of the match. Here's how it all played out:

(All times Eastern)

Denis Shapovalov vs. Jo-Wilfried Tsonga: Play-by-play, highlights from their Round of 64 match

TSONGA WINS 3-6, 6-3, 1-6, 7-6, 7-5

5th set (Tsonga wins 7-5)

12:38 — Game. Set. Match. Tsonga completes a marvelous comeback to defeat Shapovalov.

12:34 — Wow. Tsonga takes the lead after another prolonged game. 6-5 for the Frenchman, and all of a sudden it's Shapovsalov who has to play desperate.

12:29 — Four straight points for Tsonga. It's all tied up, folks. 5-5

12:27 — Let's have another look at this...

12:25 — Break! Tsonga stays alive again, and Shapovalov appears to be losing his nerve a bit. 5-4

12:21 — It took a while, but Tsonga battles back to win the game and stay alive. 5-3 for Shapovalov now, who serves for the match.

12:15 — Shapovalov wins four straight points to go up 5-2. He's one game away from claiming the match.

12:13 — Tsonga's not going away easily. He pulls one back, 4-2.

12:09 — Powerful forehand winner by Shapovalov brings it to 4-1.

12:06 — A long game comes to a close, with Shapovalov hitting it long to give Tsonga his first win of the set. 3-1

11:59 — Three unforced errors in a row by Tsonga hands Shapovalov the game, and now it's 3-0 for the youngster.

11:54 — Break! Shapovalov jumps out to a 2-0 lead after Tsonga smashes a forehand into the net.

11:51 — Blue Jays fans are everywhere!

11:49 —  Tsongsa hits it long and Shapovalov wins to open the set. 1-0.

11:41 — We're going the distance. Shapovslov has only played a five-set match twice, while Tsonga has 15 wins in matches of this length.

4th set (Tsonga wins 7-6)

11:38 — Tsonga bolts to a 5-1 lead in the tiebreak, but Shapovalov battles back. The veteran eventually takes it 7-4, and the set.

11:30 — And we're headed to a tiebreak as Shapovalov wins the game and ties it 6-6.

11:26 — Tsonga showing that he can bring the backhand. The Frenchman goes ahead 6-5, to no one's surprise,

11:23 — ... And it happens. Shapovalov brings it to 5-5 and this set will keep going.

11:19 — Round and round we go. Tsonga claims the game and goes up 5-4. Who wants to bet that Shapovalov wins the next one?

11:17 — Surprise! It's Shapovalov's turn to win a game, and we're knotted up again. 4-4

11:11 — Tsonga wins the game with a lovely drop shot. 4-3

11:08 — And now it's Shapovalov's turn to win a game. Will someone grab hold of this set or are we destined for a tiebreak? 3-3

11:04 — Here we go again. Tsonga jumps to a 3-2 lead after an unforced Shapo error.

11:02 — They're tradeing games now. Shapovalov levels it up with the forehand at the net. 2-2

10:57 — Back to Tsonga. The vet regains the fourth set lead. 2-1

10:55 — Ace! Shapovalov gets on the board in the fourth set with a bomb. 1-1

10:52 — Tsonga wins four straight points to claim the first game of the set. 1-0

3rd set (Shapovalov wins 6-1)

10:47 — And that's the set! Shapovalov forced a forehand error out of his opponent and is one set away from victory.

10:45 — It's 5-1 for Shapovalov and it feels like there can only be one outcome for this set.

10:42 — It's fair to say the young Canadian is pumped.

10:41 — Shapovalov regains the three-game lead. 4-1.

10:38 — There he is! Tsonga wins his first game of the third set. 3-1

10:34 — Tsonga still hasn't shown up for this set after putting on a pretty good performance to claim the previous one. Shapo game. 3-0.

10:31 — There's that backhand again. 2-0 Shapovalov.

10:26 — Shapovalov takes the first game. 1-0

2nd set (Tsonga wins 6-3)

10:23 — Never give up.

10:21 — A few too many unforced errors by Shapovalov and Tsonga evens things up. 6-3

10:16 — Shapovalov gets one back. 5-3

10:11 — And now he holds serve to take a big lead in the second set. 5-2

10:06 — Break! Tsonga clsaims the game by breakign the youngster's serve. 4-2

10:04 — High praise.

10:01 — Tsonga takes a page out of his opponent's book and claims two straight points on backhand winners to win the game. 3-2

10:00 — Our friends south of the border are still not quite up to speed with the spelling of Canada's newest tennis star's name

9:57 — Shapovalov does the thing where he wins a game in four straiught points again. 2-2

9:56 — The #AusOpen official Twitter account is asking all the relevant questions.

9:53 — This one is much quicker as Tsonga reclaims the lead in the set. 2-1

9:51 — Whew, that was a long one! 11 minutes to decide the game, which goes to Shapovalov. 1-1

9:39 — Tsonga clsaims the first game of the set. 1-0

9:36 —  Shapovalov took the opening in 34 minutes, with 12 winners compared to Tsonga's 4.

1st set (Shapovalov wins 6-3)

9:35 — And Shapovalov gets another game via four straight points. 6-3

9:34 — Tsonga gets another one. 5-3

9:33 — How's this for confidence?

9:28 — Speaking of short order, Shapovalov wins the game in four straight points. The kid is on fire. 5-2

9:26 — Tsonga gets one back in relatively short order. 4-2

9:22 — Another game for Shapovalov, this time thanks to a forehand winner. 4-1

9:20 —  BREAK! Shapovalov gets an early break and claims another game in the first set. 3-1

9:17 — The crowd is firmly in Shapovalov's favour. The young Canadian has quickly became a star attraction.

9:15 — Shapovalov claims the game with a backhand winner. 2-1

9:12 — However, Tsonga wins the game after a back and forth with both players holding advantage several times. 1-1

9:09 — Tsonga struggling with Shapovalov's trademark backhand in the early going.

9:03 — And the Canadian follows that up by claiming the first game. 1-0

9:01 — Shapovalov wins the first point of the match. Tsonga with a backhand forced error.

Pre-match

8:55 — After a slight delay, the players are heading out to the court.

Here's a look back at the last time these players met:

While we all wait for this match, let's take a look at Shapovalov struggling with a banana during his first match:

This Twitter poll may be a little bit skewed toward a Canadian...

Rudi Schuller