Canadian tennis sensations Bianca Andreescu and Denis Shapovalov stumbled in their grass-court debuts during the opening round of the Libema Open on Monday.
Hailing from Mississauga, Ont., Andreescu faced third seed Elise Mertens of Belgium, suffering a 6-1, 6-3 defeat in the women’s bracket of this ATP and WTA 250-level event.
Mertens displayed her dominance, not allowing a single break point while capitalizing on four out of seven opportunities to secure her first win against Andreescu in three encounters. Andreescu participated in the main draw as a wild card.
Meanwhile, Shapovalov, from Richmond Hill, Ont., faced off against Croatian veteran Marin Cilic, ultimately losing a hard-fought match 6-7 (5), 6-4, 7-5.
Cilic now leads their head-to-head record 4-3 in a contest marked by both players’ difficulties in maintaining serve. Shapovalov was broken seven times out of ten opportunities, while Cilic allowed five breaks on seven attempts.
The grass-court season, the briefest stretch on the tennis calendar lasting around a month, concludes with the prestigious Wimbledon tournament. The third Grand Slam of the year kicks off on June 29 in London.
