Tiafoe and Shapovalov Suffer Surprising Defeats at the Japan Open
In a day full of surprises at the Japan Open, Frances Tiafoe and Denis Shapovalov, seeded players, experienced unexpected defeats in the first round of the tournament.
Tiafoe, the eighth seed, couldn’t maintain his level and fell to qualifier Marton Fucsovics with a score of 3-6, 6-1, 7-5. The American, visibly frustrated, even broke his racket after the final point that gave the victory to the Hungarian.
The defeat marks a difficult moment for Tiafoe, who has dropped to 29th in the rankings. This is his fourth consecutive loss, including his elimination in the third round of the US Open and his recent setbacks in the Davis Cup.
Fucsovics will face the winner of the match between Jordan Thompson and Brandon Nakashima in the next round.
For his part, Shapovalov, seventh seed, was also eliminated after losing 7-5, 6-3 against Daniel Altmaier. Altmaier will face Damir Dzumhur or Aleksandar Vukic in the next round.
