“I kept fighting and I was feeling really good out there, and I think he kind of lost his gas in the third set”, Polansky said.
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Barely a fortnight after winning the junior Wimbledon title, Shapalova showed more signs of a bright future with a 7-6 (7-2) 3-6 6-3 first round defeat of Kyrgios on Monday.
Needless to say the result inspired some to take to social media.
The Canadian looked nervous off the bat, but was able to compose himself.
As bad as Kyrgios played – he finished with 18 double faults, eight of which came in the opening set – the Canadian was full marks in what was surely a very nervy debut, finishing with 12 aces while excelling with his second serve.
Polansky was broken in the first game of the first set but rebounded nicely in the following two sets. Both players had their chances on the return but Kyrgios used them better to level the score.
Shapovalov, who wore an nearly identical kit to Kyrgios minus his white cap, carried that momentum into the second set.
Nick Kyrgios’ US Open build up is off to a rocky start after he was beaten by 17-year-old Canadian Denis Shapalova at the Toronto Masters.
American No. 9 seed John Isner downed Dudi Sela of Israel 4-6, 6-3, 6-2 while Australia’s Bernard Tomic beat Columbia’s Alejandro Gonzalez 6-4, 7-6 (1) in afternoon draws.
On Monday, he showed precisely why, pumping his first upon blowing away his error-prone competitor in the opening-set tiebreak and letting out an even bigger roar after sealing the match with a cross-court forehand victor. Shapovalov came back to break Kyrgios in the next game.
Surely, Monday night will go down as one of the more forgettable nights for Kyrgios and the opposite is true for the Canadian kid who defied logic, giving the home country three wild-card winners in as many men’s singles opportunities on Day 1.
The loss was Nick Kyrgios’ first match since being knocked out of Wimbledon.
Fourth-seeded Milos Raonic of Thornhill has a bye in the first round.
“Not great, obviously”, said Kyrgios, who was troubled by a sore knee but still unhappy with his lethargic showing.
Serving was key throughout the match. I was equally as happy.
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“I really have to focus and really go for my shots and relax if I want to make a quarter or semi”.
