Denis Shapovalov could not rescue his home country on Sunday and as a result Canada lost its Davis Cup first round tie to Croatia 3-1 and next faces a playoff in September against a yet-to-be-determined opponent.
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Canada entered play Sunday needing Shapovalov to defeat Borna Coric, and then Vasek Pospisil had to beat Viktor Galovic, in order to advance to the quarterfinals of the Davis Cup. The result of Pospisil's match became mute when Coric beat Shapovalov in straight sets -- 6-4, 6-4, 6-4 -- in Rubber 4.
The Canadian fans are up and on their feet! 🎉 #GoCanada #DavisCup pic.twitter.com/P2Uxm8qeyY
— Tennis Canada (@TennisCanada) February 4, 2018
Shapovalov, the 48th ranked player in the world, had his serve broken to start the match by Coric, who is ranked No. 47. That set the stage for a nip and tuck battle that lasted just over two hours.
In the second set, Coric broke Shapovalov to secure a 4-3 lead and in the third set he broke Shapovalov's serve to move ahead 5-4. Shapovalov fought off one match point before falling in the first-ever meeting between the two rising ATP stars.
"Credit goes to [Coric], but I'm happy with my performance, obviously I'm disappointed that I couldn't make it more of a match or take a couple more sets off him, but I gave it all I had out there," said Shapovalov after the loss.
The defeat is the first in four career Davis Cup matches for Shapovalov, who earlier beat Galovic in straight sets, 6-4, 6-4, 6-2, in Rubber 2.
LIVE ON SPORTSNET 360 ➡️ It's a clash of the #NextGenATP as 🇨🇦 Shapovalov and 🇭🇷 Coric take to court in Osijek! #GoCanada #DavisCup pic.twitter.com/Qj0ghTbbmO
— Tennis Canada (@TennisCanada) February 4, 2018
The match Canada rues losing the most in this first round tie is Rubber 3, a doubles match Canadians Pospisil and Daniel Nestor led two sets to none before dropping the final three sets -- 6-4, 7-5, 6-2 -- to Marin Cilic and Ivan Dodig.
Canada, ranked 15th in the Davis Cup will take part in the playoffs September 14-16, looking to remain in the top 16 of the tournament. Fifth-ranked Croatia, which won the 2016 Davis Cup, moves on to face Kazakhstan in the quarters.