Denis Shapovalov lost his first match at the 2024 Australian Open, as the Canadian struggled to find his level throughout the match.
After losing his first match in six months at the ASB Classic in Auckland, the 24-year-old made his way to Melbourne, where he was set to compete in his first Grand Slam since last year's Wimbledon loss to Roman Safiullin.
Before starting his campaign at the season's first major, the former world no. 10 confirmed his plans after the tournament, as he's set to represent Canada at the Davis Cup, and now, he can be sure that nothing will interfere with his plans, as he will leave Australia already after his first match.
Shapovalov took on qualifier, and an 18-year-old talent, Jakub Mensik from the Czech Republic in his first-round match, but it looked like the Czech player was the former world no. 10, as he handled the match as a very experienced player.
In the opening set, the Canadian had a break point to go into the lead, but after he didn't use his chance, Mensik immediately increased the pressure and created two break chances, out of which he used one, eventually winning the first set 6-3.
The second set was quite close, even though both players had their chances. Yet, once again, when it mattered, the Czech player was better, breaking his opponent in the eleventh game to win the second set 7-5.
The third set started well for Shapovalov, as he had three consecutive break points on his opponent's serve, but as was a theme in this match for him, he didn't use his chances, as his opponent pulled off some solid serving performance.
Once again, similarly to the second set, when going got tough, Mensik was the better player, breaking Shapovalov in the eleventh game again to win the match 6-3, 7-5, 7-5. Up next, he will await the winner of the match between the ninth-seeded Hubert Hurkacz and qualifier Omar Jasika.
Denis Shapovalov vs Jakub Mensik Match Stats:
| Denis Shapovalov | Jakub Mensik | |
|---|---|---|
| 12 | Aces | 12 |
| 7 | Double Faults | 4 |
| 57% | First Serve % | 60% |
| 77% | Points Won After First Serve % | 82% |
| 41% | Points Won After Second Serve % | 68% |
| 0/8 | Break Point Conversion | 3/10 |
| 28 | Winners | 31 |
| 50 | Unforced Errors | 22 |
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