Denis Shapovalov Announces Unfortunate News Following Vienna Open Disappointment

Denis Shapovalov was dealt another big blow this week. After losing his opening-round match at the Erste Bank Open in Vienna, Shapovalov withdrew from the Rolex Paris Masters 2020 on Tuesday. Shapovalov is the defending finalist at the Masters 1000 event in Paris.

Kei Nishikori also joined Shapovalov and announced his withdrawal from the event that begins this weekend. Earlier, Nishikori withdrew before his first-round match against Dominic Thiem in Vienna.

Yoshihito Nishioka and Gilles Simon enter the Paris Masters event as replacements for Shapovalov and Nishikori.

End of the season for Denis Shapovalov?

For Shapovalov, this could mean the end of his 2020 season as he failed to qualify for the ATP Finals in London, next month. On Monday, the Canadian fell in straight sets 6-4, 7-5 to unseeded Jurij Rodionov. Diego Schwartzman‘s withdrawal from the Vienna event had given Shapovalov a great chance to qualify for London with a strong week.

Shapovalov lost form this season at the wrong time as he aimed for a spot in the season finale in London.

Last week, Shapovalov lost in the Round of 16 of the ATP Cologne 2 event as well. He succumbed to a 6-1, 4-6, 6-2 loss to Simon there. Before that, the 21-year-old made a semi-final appearance at the St. Petersburg Open. He fell to Andrey Rublev, who was his biggest competitor in the ‘Race to London’.

It was a controversial match for Shapovalov. He had an argument with a spectator who distracted him during a key moment in the deciding set.

Shapovalov’s inconsistent run since the restart

Shapovalov had a good start to his comeback after the restart of the ATP Tour, making a quarter-final run at the US Open 2020. He followed it up with a semi-final run at the Italian Open. However, he was knocked out in the second round of the French Open 2020, losing to Pablo Carreno Busta.

Rublev is now almost a certainty to book his spot at the ATP Finals. At the Rolex Paris Masters 2020, Diego Schwartzman and Matteo Berrettini will then most likely fight it out for the final spot.

Shapovalov will now look ahead to the 2021 season. He made the top-10 in the ATP rankings for the first time recently. This was shortly before the French Open. He is currently ranked 12th after a poor run thereafter.