Denis Shapovalov booed off by the crowd in Basel as he loses to Joao Fonseca with his conduct criticized

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Denis Shapovalov was looking to win his first career meeting against the young Brazilian.

The Canadian number two made a strong start in Basel, taking a 6-3 lead over Fonseca.

Not prepared to go down without a fight, Fonseca fought back to level things up 3-6, 6-3.

Then, in a surprising development, Shapovalov retired down 4-1 in the third, seemingly out of nowhere.

Fans in Basel then booed the Canadian off the court, as a strange final set finished abruptly.

Denis Shapovalov questioned after retiring ‘out of the blue’ against Joao Fonseca

Just a few games before Shapovalov retired, he expressed his frustrations with Fonseca, who was making him wait between serves.

On several occasions, Fonseca asked Shapovalov to wait while the ball kids returned to their spots, much to the annoyance of the 26-year-old.

After complaining to the umpire, Shapovalov continued, but seemed out of sorts, swiping at two forehands to give up a break.

He then chose to retire from the match, walking off the court to a chorus of boos in Basel.

Giving his verdict on Shapovalov’s abrupt retirement, Sky Sports commentator Jonathan Overend had this to say.

“That was a surprise. I mean, yes, there were a couple of reckless shots in that game. But come on, Denis [Shapovalov], we’ve got to get to the finish line, haven’t we?” he said.

“Allow the crowd to enjoy a bit more of the contest, which was a good one.

“Absolutely no indication that Shapovalov was hampered in any way.”

He did, however, send some sympathy Shapovalov’s way, as he recognized that the world number 23 could be carrying a knock.

“Of course, we have to give him the benefit of the doubt. Any of these players could be feeling anything at any moment,” said Overend.

“It’s easy for us to sit up here in judgment, but you don’t know what is going on down there.”

Overend’s co-commentator proceeded to share his thoughts as he noticed Shapovalov stretching his leg before retiring.

“The only thing I saw from Shapovalov maybe 20 minutes ago was that he missed a first serve, and I saw him just stretch out his right leg, but it happened once,” he said.

“That was all I saw, and I did not see it again from that point onwards.”

It’s unclear what the problem was for Shapovalov, but it was certainly one of the stranger retirements we’ve seen this year.

There won’t be any complaints from Fonseca, however, who will now prepare to play the biggest semifinal of his career.

Joao Fonseca advances to his first career ATP 500 semifinal

Earlier this year, Fonseca played his maiden tour-level semifinal, en route to his title win at the ATP 250 Argentina Open.

Playing the second semifinal of his career, Fonseca will meet Spain’s Jaume Munar, who benefited from Felix Auger-Aliassime’s retirement in the day’s first quarterfinal.

The pair haven’t played each other before, and will both be looking to reach their first ATP 500 finals.

It’s tough to gauge who will set foot on court as the favorite, as there is very little separating Fonseca and Munar in the world rankings.

Thanks to their stellar performances in Basel, both players are set to debut at a career-high ranking on Monday, but where they land will depend on the result of their semifinal match.

Only time will tell who will emerge victorious, but you certainly won’t want to miss any of the action.

Fonseca and Munar will face off in the semifinals of the 2025 Swiss Indoors on Saturday, October 25.