Shapovalov, of Richmond Hill, Ont., had 23 aces and 76 winners in the match, which lasted four hours and seven minutes. However, he also recorded 72 unforced errors, compared to 38 for ninth-ranked Rublev, who finished with nine aces and 38 winners. And while both players registered four breaks of serve, Rublev did so with half as many chances as Shapovalov (nine to 17). Shapovalov entered the match as the last Canadian left in singles at a Grand Slam event. Rublev broke Shapovalov for the fourth time to lead 5-4 in the fifth set, but the Canadian, after saving three match points, registered his fourth break serve to make it 5-5. The two held then serve to force the deciding tiebreaker. After falling behind 3-0, Shapovalov came back to make it 3-3. Rublev led 5-3 with the Canadian coming back to make it 5-4. Rublev went ahead 8-4 and Shapovalov fought back to make it 8-6. And he did pull to 9-7, but that’s as close as Shapovalov gets. Rublev and Shapovalov held serve for the first nine games of the first set before Rublev converted his first break attempt to secure a 6-4 win. Shapovalov struggled on his first serve (39 percent) and failed to convert either of his two break points. But the Canadian returned the favor in the second set, recording a pair of break points en route to a commanding 5-1 advantage. After Rublev held serve, Shapovalov followed suit to win 6-2 to level the match. The Canadian improved his first serve to 51 percent entering the third set while recording seven aces compared to just one for Rublev. The two went back to holding serve in the first six games of the third set to force a tiebreak. But the Canadian had the better of it, securing a 7-3 victory for a 2-1 advantage. But Rublev forced a fifth and deciding set by taking the fourth 6-4. And while Shapovalov had hit 18 aces to that point – Rublev had five – the Canadian was only at 52 per cent on his first serve (Rublev was at 60 per cent) and both players had registered three breaks, though Shapovalov had twice as many chances (14 to seven). KEY: Earlier in the day, Leylah Fernandez of Laval, Que., and partner Daria Saville of Russia lost their second-round women’s doubles match 7-6(5), 3-6, 6-7 (10) by Bernarda Pera of Croatia and Dalma Galfia of Hungary. … Gabriela Dabrowski of Ottawa is now the last Canadian standing at the US Open in New York. She and her women’s doubles partner, Juliana Olmos, will play California’s Ena Shibahara and Asia Muhammad in Sunday’s round of 16.
