Canadian Denis Shapovalov did not last long at the tournament in Delray Beach, Florida. He lost in his first match against American Michael Mmoh on Wednesday.
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Mmoh, 87th racket in the world, needed 2 h 22 min to dispose of the Ontarian in three sets of 7-5, 3-6 and 6-3.
Thus, for a second consecutive event, “Shapo” bent the spine from the outset when he was the third seed. In Dallas last week, Chinese Wu Yibing showed him the way out. This means that the last victory for the 23-year-old athlete dates back to January 18, in the second round of the Australian Open.
In the duel of the day, Shapovalov gave Mmoh a chance to win, even though he had an excellent start to the match. Leading 4-1, he suffered two service breaks before giving up the first set 7-5.
After bouncing back in the second set, Shapovalov squandered three chances to break at 2-2 in the final set. It ultimately cost him the game. On his first chance of the set, Mmoh meanwhile managed the break to bring the score to 5-3, a few moments before sealing the outcome of the duel.
In the quarter-finals, Mmoh will cross swords with her compatriot Mackenzie McDonald.