Posted at 9:05 a.m.
(Seoul) Canadian Denis Shapovalov lost his flag in the South Korea Tennis Open final on Sunday, losing in straight sets 6-4, 7-6 (5) to Japan’s Yoshihito Nishioka.
The 27-year-old Nishioka claimed a second career title in a duel that lasted just under two hours at the Olympic Park Tennis Center in Seoul.
PHOTO JUNG YEON-JE, AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
Yoshihito Nishioka
In 2018, Nishioka won the Shenzhen Open thanks, among other things, to another victory at the expense of Shapovalov.
Before defeating the Canadian in Seoul, Nishioka had notably eliminated the Norwegian Casper Ruud, the second player in the world and favorite of the tournament, during the quarter-final round.
Facing fourth-seeded Shapovalov, Nishioka was impressive defensively and his counter-attacking style eventually gave him the upper hand over the Ontarian.
Nishioka had the only break in the first set in the 10e game to complete the round in 53 minutes. In the second set, Shapovalov took the lead with his first break of the match in the third game, but Nishioka recovered that break in the sixth.
In the tiebreaker, Nishioka scored the mini-break that would make the difference in the 10e point.