There was a huge upset which emerged from the Rogers Cup in Montreal as home crowd favorite Denis Shapovalov defeated Juan Martin del Potro in a match where the Argentinian absolutely did not play at his best.

Shapovalov takes the first set 6-3

After an exchange of service holds in the opening games of the match, it was del Potro who almost made the first breakthrough as he earned a break point in the third game. However, Shapovalov stood firm and instead stepped up his play when facing a clutch point, eventually powering himself to a narrow service hold to remain level on serve. The tight hold of service seemed to have boosted his confidence as he broke serve immediately in the next game, jumping out to an early 3-1 lead.

Denis Shapovalov hits a backhand | Photo: Minas Panagiotakis/Getty Images North America
Denis Shapovalov hits a backhand | Photo: Minas Panagiotakis/Getty Images North America

Serving to consolidate the break, the Canadian owned a 30-0 lead before del Potro fought back to clinch the immediate break back, keeping the scores level. It was then followed by an exchange of love service holds, before del Potro played yet another loose game to allow Shapovalov to regain the lead and earn the golden opportunity to serve out the set. Much to the delight of the home crowd, the Canadian successfully served out the first set with a 6-3 scoreline after 34 minutes of play, being halfway to the huge upset.

Shapovalov steals the second set and the win

Del Potro had a tricky opening service game in the first game of the second set, which instead increased his confidence as he broke serve to make the first breakthrough in the second set, jumping out to an early 2-0 lead. However, he was unable to hold onto the lead for long as Shapovalov came up with some inspired play and broke straight back to return on serve, looking to clinch the match in straight sets. It seemed like a galore of break points when the returners earned a break point in three consecutive games, but neither was able to convert their opportunities as the scores were deadlocked at 4-4.

Juan Martin del Potro wasn't playing his best today | Photo: Minas Panagiotakis/Getty Images North America
Juan Martin del Potro wasn't playing his best today | Photo: Minas Panagiotakis/Getty Images North America

Shapovalov then earned the golden opportunity to serve out the match when he broke serve in the eleventh game, but del Potro was determined to send the match into a deciding set after some nerves got to the Canadian. With the set being brought to a tiebreak, del Potro had the upper hand when he jumped out to a 3-1 lead, looking on course to send the match into a deciding set. Unexpectedly, Shapovalov rattled off five consecutive points to earn three match points out of nowhere.

Eventually, the Canadian was just too good for the faltering del Potro as the match progressed, sealing the upset in straight sets after 1 hour and 45 minutes. Shapovalov hit a total of 11 aces to go along with seven double faults while del Potro hit just seven aces to go with a high number of six double faults. The Canadian rising star absolutely put in an amazing service display, winning 64 percent of all his service points.

Both players meet at the net after the match | Photo: Minas Panagiotakis/Getty Images North America
Both players meet at the net after the match | Photo: Minas Panagiotakis/Getty Images North America

 

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About the author
Don Han
Don Han is a young tennis writer who aspires to be a full-time sports journalist in the future, supporting Russian players along the way.