It seems clay courts are presenting quite a challenge for Canada’s Denis Shapovalov and Felix Auger-Aliassime.
The two leading Canadian male tennis stars faced an unfortunate fate in their first matches on clay, losing yet again this Tuesday at the BMW Open in Munich.
Shapovalov, seeded eighth, struggled through what appeared to be flu symptoms and ultimately retired from his match, trailing 7-6 (3), 3-0 against 17-year-old lucky loser, Diego Dedura-Palomero. This victory marked a significant milestone as Dedura-Palomero became the first player born in 2008 to win a main-draw match on the ATP Tour.
On the other hand, third-seeded Auger-Aliassime put up a fight but lost 2-6, 6-4, 7-6 (3) to Argentina’s Mariano Navone.
This string of defeats on clay follows a successful stretch for Auger-Aliassime, who clinched two titles on hard courts during the winter, while Shapovalov celebrated a hard-court victory in Dallas.
