As Denis Shapovalov entered the ATP top-50 this week, he did so on the strength of a breakout season for the 18-year-old, and the longest and most tennis he's played in his young career.
The mileage Shapovalov put in over a long calendar may finally be catching up to him.
SIGN UP to watch ATP and WTA events on DAZN
On Tuesday, Shapovalov returned to the court for the first time since the 2017 Laver Cup, a 19-day layoff, and his first non-team singles competition since the U.S. Open. But it was a short-lived return for the Canadian, who dropped his opening round match at the Shanghai Rolex Masters against Viktor Troicki 7-6(3), 3-6, 0-6.
Shapovalov has had issues in matches that have dragged on, and Monday that trend continued.
After playing to a tiebreak in the first set, Shapovalov managed to hold off Troicki to take the opener, putting him in the driver's seat for the match.
Air Canada...😮💨#SHRolexMasters @denis_shapo pic.twitter.com/9r8fMjNWxB
— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) October 10, 2017
But Shapovalov faded from their, dropping both the second and third sets, including being shut out in the third and decisive set leading to his elimination. Shapovalov fell behind 4-2 in the second set — dropping the first break — after double-faulting to give Troicki a two-game lead. The Serbian held from there to see out the set.
With a chance to rebound to save the match and his tournament hopes alive, Shapovalov, normally strong on his serve, was immediately broken, and then went down a double-break to trail 3-0.