ATP Sofia: Denis Shapovalov misses a chance for the year-end top-10 ranking

Denis Shapovalov was one of the most notable players at the US Open and Rome Masters, gathering 720 points and cracking the top-10 on September 21 as the first player born in 1999. In New York, Denis defeated Taylor Fritz and David Goffin to reach the quarters, setting the clash against Pablo Carreno Busta and losing in thrilling five sets in over four hours. Switching continents and surfaces, Shapovalov advanced into Rome's last four, giving 120% against Diego Schwartzman but falling in the deciding tie break after three hours and 15 minutes. Those points were enough to propel the Canadian into the elite ten for the first time, achieving another milestone for his generation and hoping to fight for the ATP Finals' place. The Canadian fell in Roland Garros second-round to Roberto Carballes Baena in another thriller that lasted for five hours, heading to St. Petersburg and scoring three commanding wins to reach the semis.

Denis won the opening set against the home star Andrey Rublev before the Russian turned the tables and prevailed in three sets, leaving Shapovalov with more options to secure the year-end top-10 berth. With Matteo Berrettini and Gael Monfils competing way below their best or not playing at all, the Canadian needed a small number of points to pass them both and wrap up the season in the elite company. Instead of that, Denis has suffered four straight defeats to finish the season with negative vibes, hoping for a fresh start in 2021.

Denis Shapovalov closed the season with four straight losses.

Gilles Simon took down Shapovalov in Cologne 2 before an even tougher loss in Vienna's first round to world no. 153 Jurij Rodionov. With one last shot in the battle with Monfils and Berrettini, Denis entered the ATP 250 event in Sofia as the top seed, requiring only a couple of wins to move in front of two rivals and achieve his goal.

Instead of that, the youngster experienced a 6-2, 6-4 loss against Radu Albot in an hour and 14 minutes, wrapping up the year with the fourth straight early exit and switching focus on 2021. Serving at only 45%, Shapovalov never found the rhythm, taking only nine points on the return and suffering three breaks to propel the Moldovan into the last 16. A left-hander netted a forehand right after serve in the sixth game to suffer a break, wasting a break opportunity in the next one and falling 5-2 behind when Radu landed a backhand crosscourt winner. Denis sent a forehand long in the eighth game to lose serve for the second time and push the rival 6-2 up, having many things to work on in set number two. After nine good holds on both sides, Shapovalov served to stay in the match at 4-5  and sprayed two basic errors at 30-30 to hand the break and a win to his rival, breaking racquet in anger and finishing the season. 

from Tennis World USA https://ift.tt/3pkzBhq