Struff upsets birthday boy Shapovalov in Monte Carlo opener

Reuters - Canadian Denis Shapovalov endured a birthday to forget as he suffered a 5-7 6-3 6-1 defeat to unseeded German Jan-Lennard Struff in the opening round of Monte Carlo Masters on Monday (April 15). Shapovalov, who turned 20, was coming off a spectacular run to the Miami Open semi-finals but struggled to rediscover his service rhythm as he finished with 10 double faults in his first clay court match of the season. The 15th-seeded Shapovalov fought hard to clinch the opening set but found himself immediately on the back foot when Struff claimed an early break point in the second set. Struff converted two more break point opportunities to seal the second set before a Shapovalov double fault allowed the German to tighten his grip on the match with an early 2-0 lead in the decider. Struff, who won 72 per cent of first-serve points, completed the turnaround in just under two hours. British number one Kyle Edmund let an early lead slip and won only one of the final 13 games in a 4-6 6-3 6-1 defeat by Argentine Diego Schwartzman. In other play, Daniil Medvedev of Russia handily defeated Portugal's Joao Sousa 6-1, 6-1 while Fabio Fognini of Italy bested Andrei Rublev of Russia 4-6, 7-5, 6-4.