Denis Shapovalov highlights one aspect of his game that must change after Canadian Open defeat

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Denis Shapovalov suffered another heart-wrenching first-round defeat at his native Canadian Open for the second successive year on Wednesday.

Shapovalov, who established a name for himself in 2017 after defeating Rafael Nadal on home soil, came unstuck by Brandon Nakashima, losing 6-4 7-5.

Though the Canadian has since struggled in North America, having never made it past the third round in the years that followed.

Shapovalov was embroiled in controversy in Washington last week as he was defaulted in the dying embers of his quarter-final against American Ben Shelton.

However, the hangover from this saga wasn’t to blame for Wednesday’s straight-sets loss.

Denis Shapovalov must go easy on himself after Canadian Open

Shapovalov is resurfacing on the ATP Tour this season after a spell on the sidelines through injury during the back end of 2023.

But following his first-round exit at the Canadian Open this week, the former top-ten player has admitted that he must take the positives from each defeat if he is to retrieve the form that has propelled him to stardom in the past.

The 25-year-old said: “In general, I think I’m pretty hard on myself, and maybe that’s something I need to change. I need to be better with myself for making mistakes and allow myself to maybe not have great weeks and not feel my best.

“It’s a tournament where I made a name for myself and first came onto the scene and I feel like I owe it to the fans to really bring out a good level of myself.

“It’s challenging, I want to make a great week for myself but maybe I need to be a bit easier on myself and know that most weeks go like it did today. Unfortunately with tennis, it’s just something that happens and you have to go into these weeks treating it like any other week.”

Can Shapovalov retrieve top-ten form?

Returning after a troublesome time with injury, Shapovalov has struggled to find his feet throughout the 2024 season.

But he must not be quick to forget what he has achieved throughout his relatively young career.

Despite only winning one ATP title, in Stockholm in 2019, the Canadian soared to number ten in the world at the back end of 2020 after making the quarter-finals of the US Open.

The following year, he stole British hearts with an awe-inspiring run to the semi-final stage of Wimbledon.

At only 25 years of age, Shapovalov still has plenty of time to draw on the success he has achieved in the past to reproduce the fine tennis he is capable of and catapult back up the rankings.