It wasn’t an ideal start for Canadians in Miami as both Denis Shapovalov and Liam Draxl lost out in their opening matches.
Shapovalov finally began play at the Miami Open presented by Itaú after his first-round match was rescheduled due to Wednesday's rainout. Unfortunately for the Canadian No. 3, he fell 7-5, 6-3 to Botic van de Zandschulp on Thursday.
The Dutch No. 2 was clinical on break point, converting four of six including all three in the second set en route to the victory. When under pressure, van de Zandschulp was just as solid, losing serve just once on Shapovalov’s six break opportunities in the match.
The Canadian had the first bit of daylight, winning six points on the bounce from 1-1 to lead 1-2, love-30. However, van de Zandschulp went on a run of his own, conceding just one of the next eight points to hold the match’s first break points at 2-2, 15-40. The Richmond Hillian saved both, soon securing the hold, but he would later find himself under more pressure late in the opening set.
At 5-5, love-30, van de Zandschulp capped off the longest rally of the match with one of his 18 winners, grasping onto triple break point. Shapovalov couldn’t deal with the Dutch’s deep return as the world No. 65 then served out the opener in the ensuing game.
Looking for an early advantage in the second, the Canadian held three break points in van de Zandschulp’s opening service game, but the Dutch fought off Shapovalov’s push thanks in part to a pair of aces.
Van de Zandschulp then pulled away after preventing the loss of serve, converting on his next two break points to serve for the match at 5-2.
Shapovalov managed to stay alive, saving four match points before cutting into the deficit, but the Canuck was quickly broken back as van de Zandschulp took the match in just over 90 minutes.
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Draxl’s Miami Debut Spoiled in Three-Set Loss
Liam Draxl will have to wait for his maiden ATP Tour singles main-draw win after the Canadian No. 4 lost in his Miami Open presented by Itaú debut, 6-7(4), 6-1, 6-1 to Quentin Halys on Thursday.
The Newmarket-native erased an early 0-3 deficit in the opening set, winning five games on the fly before eventually clinching the tiebreaker. However, Draxl ran into some service troubles throughout the remainder of the match, broken five times on ten break points while winning just 45 per cent of his first-serve points over that span.
Halys was off to a flying start, winning the opening seven points of the match to gain a 0-1, love-40, advantage. Draxl saved one break point with an ace but followed with a double fault to lose serve.
The Canadian soon trailed 0-3; however, he began to work his way into the contest. The 24-year-old got on the board with a tight hold in the fourth game, then won seven points on the bounce to bring things to 2-3, 40-love. Draxl equalized on the third attempt before a second consecutive break brought the world No. 147 in front, 4-3.
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Draxl completed a winning run for five-straight games and eventually had the chance to serve out the set at 5-4. Some impressive defence by Halys led to the vital break as the set extended to a tiebreaker.
With the Frenchman on serve at 3-4, Draxl took control. The Canadian faithful erupted as the Newmarket-native’s passing shot painted the line for the mini-break. Halys then double faulted, bringing Draxl one-point away from taking the opener, and the Canuck did so at 6-4 with one of his four aces on the night.
Draxl had to come back from a slightly larger deficit in the second as he has broken in back-to-back service games, trailing 5-1 following a Halys hold.
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However, the Frenchman gave Draxl no way back into the set, breaking for a third-straight time in the ensuing game to secure the second and force a decider.
The Canadian’s struggles on serve continued into the third as his skid extended to five service games without a hold, giving Halys a comfortable 4-0 lead. Draxl avoided the crucial loss of serve at 0-5 to stay alive, but Halys held to love when serving for the match, wrapping up an assertive comeback win.
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Three Canadians begin singles play in Miami on Friday with Victoria Mboko, Gabriel Diallo, and Leylah Annie Fernandez all in action.
Feature Photo: Sarah-Jade Champagne
