Denis Shapovalov will have to wait to play in his first ATP World Tour final.
The 19-year-old Canadian lost in straight sets to Russia's Daniil Medvedev on Saturday, falling 6-3, 6-3 in a little over an hour.
Heading into the match, Shapovalov held a 2-0 lifetime record against his older opponent, but history didn't matter on Saturday as Medvedev was dominant from start to finish. The Russian held advantages in aces (14-5), break points converted (3-0) and double faults (0-5) as he cruised past an overmatched Shapovalov.
Daniil, dominant. 👊@DaniilMedwed rolls past Denis Shapovalov 6-3 6-3 to become the first qualifier to reach the Tokyo final since 2002.#rakutenopen pic.twitter.com/7IroTU2cMU
— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) October 6, 2018
"Denis is a great player and sometimes in tennis, nobody can win all the tournaments. Sometimes you lose to someone, sometimes you beat somebody," Medvedev told reporters after the match. "I managed to show a really good level today, good serve. I managed to break him, so I came out on top."
The loss marks the fourth time in four tries that Shapovalov has failed to win a semifinal match of an ATP World Tour event. The teenager, ranked 31st in the world, has yet to win a set at the semifinal stage.