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Canada’s Denis Shapovalov was ousted in the first round of the Italian Open on Wednesday, falling 6-7 (4), 6-3, 7-6 (4) to Luciano Darderi of Italy.
The 25-year-old from Richmond Hill, Ont., struggled with his service game, committing 14 double faults and landing just 55 per cent of his first serves. Darderi capitalized on six break points compared to Shapovalov’s four.
Darderi next meets Mariano Navone of Argentina on Friday.
Shapovalov, ranked 126th in the world, holds a 6-11 record this season.
Fellow Canadian Felix Auger-Aliassime, seeded 18th in Rome, received a first-round bye and is set to hit the clay court on Friday against the winner of Thursday’s match between Botic van de Zandschulp of the Netherlands and American Nicolas Moreno De Alboran.
Auger-Aliassime enters the tournament fresh from a finals appearance at last week’s Madrid Open.
WATCH | Shapovalov outlasted by Italy’s Darderi in striaight sets:
Italian Luciano Darderi upset Denis Shapovalov of Richmond Hill, Ont., 6-7(4), 6-3, 7-6(4) in the first round of the Italian Open in Rome.
On Tuesday, Leylah Fernandez of Laval, Que., saw her career record in the main draw of the Italian Open dip to 1-3 with a 6-4, 6-1 loss to Romanian veteran Ana Bogdan.
The 21-year-old Fernandez struggled with her serve, winning 56.1 per cent of first serve points and was broken five times on eight changes.
Bogdan saved five of six breaks and won 56.1 per cent of total points to wrap up the match in one hour 42 minutes.
Fernandez, ranked 34th in the world, has an 8-10 mark this season.
Andy Murray to return from injury in Geneva
Three-time Grand Slam champion Andy Murray is set to return from his ankle injury at the Geneva Open this month.
Tournament organizers announced Wednesday they had given the 36-year-old Murray a wild-card entry for the clay-court event that starts May 18.
Murray damaged ligaments in his left ankle during a match at the Miami Open last month. He opted against surgery.
The former No. 1 has only played sparingly since having hip surgery in 2018 and has said he will probably retire after this summer. He is a two-time Wimbledon and Olympic champion and is hoping to compete for Britain again at the Paris Games.
The Geneva Open is a key tune-up for the French Open, where Murray is a former finalist but has only played once since reaching the 2017 semifinals.
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