For Canadian teenager Denis Shapovalov yesterday’s Davis Cup tie will act as a steep learning curve.

The talented 17-year-old had been drafted in to play the deciding fifth rubber as Great Britain and Canada battled it out for a place in the quarter-finals of the World Group.

Shapovalov was up against Britain’s rising star, Kyle Edmund, who had handled the pressure admirably to build-up 6-3 6-4 3-1 lead, amid a vibrant Canadian backdrop in Ottawa.

That was when Shapovalov’s frustration boiled over.

He isn’t the first and won’t be the last to whack a ball into crowd to vent his spleen, but here he got his trajectory all wrong.

The Canadian had just dragged a backhand into the tramlines to lose his serve early in the third set. With emotions running high, he hastily grabbed a loose ball from his pocket and fired it in the direction of umpire Arnaud Gabas.

Shapovalov had intended to smack the ball out of the stadium, but instead it flew directly into Gabas’ eye- causing it to swell badly.

Straight away the teenager knew what he had done and the ramifications of his actions. He put his hand to his mouth, as a stadium full of lively spectators fell silent.

They all knew what coming. The rules are quite clear. And after a lengthy delay, the announcement was made. "Game, Set and Match Great Britain". "Disqualification Canada".

Great tie comes to abrupt end

It was a real shame for the tie to end that way, in the fifth match of a gripping contest.

Earlier in the day, Canada’s number for the weekend, Vasek Pospisil, had produced another inspirational performance for his country to defeat Dan Evans in a thrilling four sets battle.

That had ignited the home fans ahead of the deciding match, which would determine who would go on to face France in the quarter-finals.

The unfortunate outcome shouldn’t detract from Edmund’s performance, though. For so long Britain have dreaded fifth rubbers in this competition, when they have found themselves short of a second singles player to support Andy Murray.

Now, in Edmund and Evans, captain Leon Smith has two other top 50 players to choose from. Combined with a world class doubles team, of Dom Inglot and Jamie Murray, Britain have won a tricky away tie without their star man.

In the end it all came down to Edmund, who by his own admission played poorly in his defeat to Pospisil on Friday.

Mature performance from Edmund

The 22-year-old from Beverly was playing an opponent ranked 204 places below him and that can’t have been easy in the heat of a Davis Cup decider.

Yet, the Brit looked assured from the off, positively electing to serve first after winning the coin toss.

Shapovalov also appeared unfazed by the situation, swinging freely with his flat single-handed backhand and temperamental forehand.

As has been the case all weekend, the speedy indoor court made it difficult for both players to break serve, even so Edmund earned the first two break points of the match in the eighth game.

The first was saved by a Shapovalov ace, however on the second the Canadian double faulted, a mistake which ultimately cost him the opening set.

Edmund, the world number 47, continued to show great maturity, serving astutely and waiting for the right opportunities to deploy his potent forehand from the back of the court.

The Brit broke Shapovalov again at 4-4 in the second set before comfortably holding serve to seal a two set lead.

The third set was following a similar pattern before the match came to an abrupt and unfortunate end.

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About the author
Joe Nicholson
Sports Journalism student at Sunderland University. Writer for the Championship and tennis offices.