Six months after playing his last tournament, the Canadian Denis Shapovalov made a return to action on Monday at the Auckland tournament, but the Austrian Sebastian Ofner did not do him any favors in the first round.
The seventh seed of the New Zealand event won in two sets of 6-4, 6-2. The Ontarian, for his part, had received a pass from the organizers for the main draw.
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Having not played since his loss in the round of 16 at Wimbledon in July, Shapovalov has slipped to 116th in the ATP rankings. Recovering from a knee injury, he will try to climb the ranks by participating in the Australian Open next week, but his rehearsal for the Grand Slam event has been difficult.
The 24-year-old tennis player only placed 49% of his first service balls in play against Ofner. He also committed 11 double faults and his second ball was never there.
Shapovalov defended by allowing only three break points, except that he saved none. His opponent resisted the only two odd mistakes he allowed himself.
Quebecer Félix Auger-Aliassime will also make his debut in 2024 in Auckland on Tuesday. The fourth favorite will begin his journey against the German Daniel Altmaier.
2024-01-09 02:34:13
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