Denis Shapovalov lost his opening match at the Canadian Open against Learner Tien.
Shapovalov won the Los Cabos Open in his last tournament ahead of his home Masters 1000 tournament in Toronto.
There are many Canadian players competing in the singles draw in Toronto, and Shapovalov has admitted his sadness about his compatriot retiring.
Now Shapovalov has revealed what he thinks is the real reason for his loss to young American talent Learner Tien.
Photo by Matthew Stockman/Getty ImagesDenis Shapovalov pinpoints the real reason why he lost to Learner Tien
Shapovalov was beaten by Tien, 7-6(4) 7-5, despite being up a break in both sets.
When speaking about the match in his post-match press conference, Shapovalov admitted to feeling nervous and claimed the reason for his loss is ‘completely mental’.
“Honestly, today’s loss was probably completely mental,” said Shapovalov. “I felt like, or not felt like, you could see by the scoreboard, but, you know, I kind of had both sets in my hand, just kind of let them slip.
“Yeah, just felt nervous a bit today, didn’t really feel comfortable on the court out there. So, yeah, just a little bit unlucky maybe in some moments, but, yeah, it is what it is. I still tried to stay true to my game, still go for it. Yeah, just didn’t kind of connect today. But, yeah, you know, it happens.”
The Masters 1000 event is the only main ATP Tour event that takes place in Canada, but Shapovalov explained that he tries not to put any extra emphasis on it compared to any other tournament at that level.
Shapovalov also suggested that he finds it challenging to adapt his game to the courts in Toronto.
“Yeah, it sucks, of course. You know, obviously it’s an important tournament,” said the world number 29. “Actually, you know, I actually try to treat it like any other Masters 1000. But yeah, the last couple times I played in Toronto I haven’t felt too comfortable on court there and, yeah, it’s been tough.
“I feel like that court is kind of tricky to play my game on. It is what it is. There’s places where, surfaces where you enjoy to play more. Obviously I’ve had great success in Montreal, and I like that court there. Here it’s been a little bit trickier for me.
“Yeah, it sucks. But, again, today didn’t go my way, but I felt like I wasn’t beaten, I lost today. I had the match, I had the first set, I had the second set, and yeah, just a little bit of nerves, a little bit of, yeah, just didn’t go my way. That’s tennis, it happens quite often.”
Denis Shapovalov’s record at the Canadian Open
The Canadian Open consists of both an ATP and WTA 1000 event, alternating between Toronto and Montreal each year.
Shapovalov made his Canadian Open debut as a 17-year-old in Toronto, the city where he has never been able to surpass the third round.
However, he has enjoyed one particularly good result in Montreal, with Shapovalov reaching the semifinals of the Canadian Open in 2017.
That year saw 18-year-old Shapovalov beat top seed Rafael Nadal, but he has only won one of his four matches in Montreal since then.
YearLocationDenis Shapovalov’s Result2016TorontoLost in the second round to Grigor Dimitrov2017MontrealLost in the semifinals to Alexander Zverev2018TorontoLost in the third round to Robin Haase2019MontrealLost in the second round to Dominic Thiem2021TorontoLost in the second round to Frances Tiafoe2022MontrealLost in the first round to Alex de Minaur2024MontrealLost in the first round to Brandon Nakashima 2025TorontoLost in the second round to Learner Tien
Although Shapovalov has been knocked out of the singles draw in Toronto, he still has doubles to play with Felix Auger-Aliassime.
Shapovalov and Auger-Aliassime will play the American pairing of Brandon Nakashima and Robert Galloway in their first round match.