Denis Shapovalov was sent out of the French Open on Tuesday, undone by a steady, upset-minded Jaime Faria and by his own mistakes on the slow clay at Roland Garros. The Canadian lost 6-4, 7-5, 6-4 to the Portuguese qualifier, who kept finding a way through in the tight moments.
Faria broke Shapovalov to lead 6-5 in the second set and then served for the win, a key swing that left the former top prospect chasing the match. In the third set, Faria went up 2-1 on an early break, Shapovalov answered by winning the next game on return, and then another break restored Faria’s lead, closing the door on the Canadian’s comeback.
Shapovalov, 27, from Richmond Hill, Ont., hit 10 aces but also committed eight double faults and 48 unforced errors, a costly mix that has followed him through a difficult season. He entered the French Open ranked 39th in the world, and the loss dropped his record to 8-11. On these courts, power can still travel, but only if it is paired with control, and Shapovalov never found enough of the latter.
The result leaves Felix Auger-Aliassime carrying more of Canada’s weight in the men’s draw. The Montreal player was scheduled later Tuesday to face Germany’s Daniel Altmaier, with Auger-Aliassime listed as the fourth seed, and Canadian attention now shifts to whether he can keep the campaign alive after Shapovalov’s exit.
That is the tension for Canada at Roland Garros: one player is out after being beaten in straight sets by a qualifier, while the other goes on court with the bracket and the expectations still in front of him. For readers tracking the next step, Felix Auger-Aliassime’s clay-court form has already drawn notice in a separate preview of his expected run at the Hamburg Open, and a broader look at Canada’s hopes at this tournament has centered on Victoria Mboko and Felix Auger-Aliassime as the names to watch.
Shapovalov’s defeat was not a matter of one bad patch. It was a match in which Faria kept forcing the next shot, and Shapovalov kept missing too many of them. That is usually enough on any surface, and on clay it is enough to end a run quickly.
