Not this time Shapo.
Denis Shapovalov upset veteran Juan Martin del Potro at last year's Rogers Cup, but the Canadian teen sensation failed to replicate that grand performance on Wednesday when the two met again down in New Zealand. Instead, del Potro exacted revenge in the Round of 32 at the ASB Classic with a convincing 6-2, 6-4 straight-sets victory over Shapovalov.
He came, he saw, he conquered. 👏 @delpotrojuan takes his revenge on Denis Shapovalov in straight sets. #ASBClassic pic.twitter.com/nQ7BgW2vkm
— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) January 10, 2018
del Potro, the number two seed in the tournament, spun eight aces en-route to his first win of the new year, after receiving a first-round bye. The Argentine, the top remaining seed after No. 1 ranked Jack Sock lost Wednesday, faces Karen Khachanov of Russia in the quarterfinals Thursday.
Big 1st win of the season for Juan Martin #DelPotro who has dominated Denis Shapovalov 6-2 6-4 in Auckland 💪 pic.twitter.com/a9Yz4BOFsd
— We Are Tennis (@WeAreTennis) January 10, 2018
Shapovalov is now 1-2 in 2018 match play. He dropped his opening-round match at the Brisbane International to Kyle Edmund last week before defeating Rogerio Dutra Silva in less than an hour Monday at the ASB Classic. Wednesday, he lost decisively to del Potro.
Last summer in Montreal it was a different story as Shapovalov upset del Potro 6-3, 7-6 in the second round at the Rogers Cup. He proceeded to defeat Rafael Nadal and Adrian Mannarino before falling in the semifinals to eventual tournament champion Alexander Zverev.
Next up for Shapovalov is the Australian Open, which begins next week. It marks the second Grand Slam appearance of the 18-year-old's young career. Last September, he wowed the crowd in New York City, winning two qualifying matches before taking out Dmitry Medvedev, Edmund and Jo-Wilfired Tsonga. His exciting run ended with a quarterfinals loss to Pablo Carreno Busta.