Monaco: Canadian Denis Shapovalov endured a birthday to forget as he suffered a 7-5, 3-6, 1-6 defeat to unseeded German Jan-Lennard Struff in the opening round of Monte Carlo Masters tennis tournament Monday.
Shapovalov, who turned 20, was coming off a spectacular run to the Miami Open semifinals but struggled to rediscover his service rhythm as he finished with 10 double faults in his first clay court match of the season.
The 15th-seeded Shapovalov fought hard to clinch the opening set but found himself immediately on the back foot when Struff claimed an early break point in the second set.
Struff converted two more break point opportunities to seal the second set before a Shapovalov double fault allowed the German to tighten his grip on the match with an early 2-0 lead in the decider.
Struff, who won 72 percent of first-serve points, completed the turnaround in just under two hours.
Elsewhere, British No.1 Kyle Edmund let an early lead slip and won only one of the final 13 games in a 6-4, 3-6, 1-6 defeat by Argentine Diego Schwartzman.
Earlier, Spain’s Roberto Bautista Agut recovered from a set down to beat John Millman 3-6, 6-1, 6-1 and set up a second-round meeting with compatriot and 11-time winner Rafael Nadal.
Nadal expects intense competition for clay court honours this season, with Novak Djokovic, top seed in Monte Carlo, aiming to gather momentum on his way to a personal sweep at the French Open by lifting his fourth straight Grand Slam title.
Last year’s runner-up in Paris, Dominic Thiem is high on confidence after winning the title in Indian Wells last month, and while Federer is not part of the Monte Carlo field, he is scheduled for a claycourt comeback at Madrid next month.
