In a disappointing start at the Monte Carlo Masters, Canadians Félix Auger-Aliassime and Denis Shapovalov were eliminated in the opening round on Monday.
Montreal’s Auger-Aliassime, seeded 16th in the prestigious clay-court event, faced off against German qualifier Daniel Altmaier and succumbed with a score of 7-6 (5), 6-3.
After falling behind early in the second set, Altmaier rallied impressively, fending off three break points in a tense final game, thereby improving his head-to-head record against Auger-Aliassime to 2-0.
Meanwhile, Denis Shapovalov, hailing from Richmond Hill, Ontario, also faced an early exit, losing to American contender Marcos Giron with a scoreline of 6-3, 7-6 (5).
Giron capped off the second set by winning the last three points of a nail-biting tiebreaker, including clinching match point with a return, marking his record against Shapovalov at 3-1.
Despite Shapovalov’s impressive display of six aces compared to Giron’s one, four double faults marred his performance, allowing Giron to capitalize effectively.
