Canadian Denis Shapovalov didn’t last long at the tournament in Delray Beach, Florida. He lost in his first match on Wednesday to American Michael Mmoh.
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Mmoh, 87th slugger in the world, took 2h 22m to finish off the Ontarian in three sets 7-5, 3-6 and 6-3.
Thus, for a second consecutive event, “Shapo” flexed his spine from the start when he was the third seed. Last week in Dallas, China’s Wu Yibing showed him the way out. The 23-year-old’s last win was on January 18th in the second round of the Australian Open.
In the match of the day, Shapovalov gave Mmoh a chance to win despite having an excellent start to the match. Leading 4-1, he suffered two service breaks before giving up the first set 7-5.
After rebounding in the second set, Shapovalov missed three chances to break 2-2 in the final set. Ultimately, it cost him the game. With his first chance to set, Mmoh managed to break the score to 5: 3, just before he sealed the outcome of the duel.
In the quarterfinals, Mmoh meets her compatriot Mackenzie McDonald.