Denis Shapovalov and Ben Shelton battled for two entertaining sets in their Washington Open quarterfinal. However, the match looked to be slipping away from the Canadian when he was three match points down in the second set tiebreak, having lost the first set 6-7. Unfortunately, the match ended abruptly when Shapovalov was defaulted after getting into an exchange with a fan in the stadium.
Denis Shapovalov Defaulted At Washington Open
The second set tiebreak was perfectly balanced, with the score at 3-3. But Shapovalov then made three unforced errors in a row, leaving him three match points down. He slammed his racket on the ground when he went 3-6 down, which is not unusual for a fiery player like the 25-year-old. What happened after that got him into trouble.
Someone in the crowd appeared to say something to the former Wimbledon semifinalist. Shapovalov immediately shouted something back at the crowd member, although it was difficult to determine what it was. However, it was severe enough for the supervisor to be called onto the court. After a discussion with the umpire and Shapovalov, the Candian was defaulted from the match.
Interestingly, Shelton was not happy about that decision. He almost certainly would have gone on to win the match in any case, but he disagreed with defaulting his opponent. The 21-year-old offered some sympathetic words to Shapovalov at the net.
This is the second time Shapovalov has been defaulted. In a 2017 Davis Cup match, he was defaulted for accidentally striking an umpire with a ball. Unlike that incident, Shapovalov did not agree with his Washington Open default on the court. He felt the fan antagonized him, and he was within his rights to say something back. It is hard to form a judgment on the matter without knowing the content of what Shapovalov said.
Main Photo Credit: Geoff Burke – USA TODAY Sports
