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Canada's Auger-Aliassime, Shapovalov ousted in Toronto

Posted August 12, 2021 7:00 am

The Associated Press

Canada's Felix Auger-Aliassime returns the ball to Serbia's Dusan Lajovic at the men's National Bank Open tennis tournament in Toronto, Wednesday, Aug. 11, 2021. (Christopher Katsarov/The Canadian Press via AP) The Associated Press

TORONTO (AP) - Wimbledon quarterfinalist Felix Auger-Aliassime and countryman Denis Shapovalov were ousted from the National Bank Open in their native Canada on Wednesday.

Auger-Aliassime lost his first match, falling 7-5, 6-4 to Dusan Lajovic. Shapovalov dropped a 6-1, 6-4 decision to American Frances Tiafoe.

Auger-Aliassime, who's from Montreal, was the ninth seed in the tournament and had a bye into the second round. He was coming off an opening-round loss at the Tokyo Olympics.

'œI just played a lot of tennis, even though I didn't win a lot of matches at the Olympics or the last week,'ť Auger-Aliassime said. 'œThere's a lot of traveling, a lot of practices, a lot of balls hit and maybe that's taken a bit of a toll on me, too. I don't know.'ť

Shapovalov came into the tournament as the No. 5 seed with a bye through the first round.

'œObviously it's not an ideal performance, so I'm definitely not too happy,'ť Shapovalov said after his second round loss.

'œ(Tiafoe) has a lot of matches under his belt under these conditions and he was the better player today. It was obvious,'ť said Shapovalov, the world No. 10. 'œI just didn't feel comfortable ever in the match and you could see he was comfortable. '¦ It's always tough to go up against guys like this.'ť

Tiafoe will face France's Gael Monfils in the third round on Thursday after the tournament's No. 11 seed beat John Millman of Australia 3-6, 6-3, 6-4.

No. 4 seed Andrey Rublev of Russia, seventh-seeded Hubert Hurkacz of Poland, No. 8 Diego Schwartzman of Argentina, 10th seed Roberto Bautista Agut of Spain and American John Isner also won their matches Wednesday to advance, as did Nikoloz Basilashvili of Georgia, who upset 12th-seeded Alex de Minaur of Australia.

In the women's event in Montreal, Canadian wild card Rebecca Marino continued her run by beating Paula Badosa 1-6, 7-5, 6-4.

The 30-year-old Marino upset No. 16 seed Madison Keys in the first round.

Marino had a career-high ranking of No. 39 in 2011, but stepped away from the sport for nearly five years to battle depression. She's currently ranked 220th.

'œAny time you can beat a girl who's in the top 100, top 50, it's something to feel good about, particularly as I'm building my ranking back up,'ť Marino said of beating Badosa, who is ranked 31st.

Marino will face Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus in the round of 16 on Thursday.

Sabalenka, the tournament's No. 1 seed, edged American wild card Sloane Stephens 7-6(4), 4-6, 6-4 on Wednesday.

Canadian Bianca Andreescu will also be back in action Thursday, facing either No. 13 seed Ons Jabeur of Tunisia or Russia's Daria Kasatkina in the round of 16.

No 4 Karolina Pliskova of the Czech Rebulic, No. 11 Maria Sakkari of Greece and Coco Gauff, the 15th-seeded American, all won to advance on Wednesday, while Britain's Johanna Konta ousted third-seeded Ukarainian Elina Svitolina.

American Danielle Collins upset No. 6 Simona Halep of Romania, and Jessica Pegula of the U.S. got by 10th-seeded Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova.

___

More AP tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/tennis and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

Serbia's Dusan Lajovic, left, shakes hands with Canada's Felix Auger-Aliassime after Lajovic defeated Auger-Aliassime at the men's National Bank Open tennis tournament in Toronto, Wednesday, Aug. 11, 2021. (Christopher Katsarov/The Canadian Press via AP) The Associated Press

Serbia's Dusan Lajovic reacts after defeating Canada's Felix Auger-Aliassime at the men's National Bank Open tennis tournament in Toronto, Wednesday, Aug. 11, 2021. (Christopher Katsarov/The Canadian Press via AP) The Associated Press

Canada's Felix Auger-Aliassime looks on during his match against Serbia's Dusan Lajovic at the men's National Bank Open tennis tournament in Toronto, Wednesday, Aug. 11, 2021. (Christopher Katsarov/The Canadian Press via AP) The Associated Press

Denis Shapovalov, of Canada, serves to Frances Tiafoe, the United States, during the National Bank Open men's tennis tournament Wednesday, Aug. 11, 2021, in Toronto. (Cole Burston/The Canadian Press via AP) The Associated Press

Frances Tiafoe, of the United States, returns a ball to Denis Shapovalov, of Canada, during a National Bank Open men's tennis match, in Toronto, Wednesday, Aug. 11, 2021. (Cole Burston/The Canadian Press via AP) The Associated Press

Frances Tiafoe, the United States, reacts to his coach after winning a point against Denis Shapovalov, of Canada, during the National Bank Open men's tennis tournament Wednesday, Aug. 11, 2021, in Toronto. (Cole Burston/The Canadian Press via AP) The Associated Press

Denis Shapovalov of Canada reacts after winning a point against Frances Tiafoe the United States, during the National Bank Open men's tennis tournament Wednesday, Aug. 11, 2021, in Toronto. (Cole Burston/The Canadian Press via AP) The Associated Press

Canada's Rebecca Marino serves to Paula Badosa, of Spain, during the National Bank Open women's tennis tournament in Montreal, Wednesday, Aug. 11, 2021. (Paul Chiasson/The Canadian Press via AP) The Associated Press

Paula Badosa, of Spain, serves to Canada's Rebecca Marino during the National Bank Open women's tennis tournament in Montreal, Wednesday, Aug. 11, 2021. (Paul Chiasson/The Canadian Press via AP) The Associated Press

Canada's Rebecca Marino returns to Paula Badosa, of Spain, during the National Bank Open women's tennis tournament in Montreal, Wednesday, Aug. 11, 2021. (Paul Chiasson/The Canadian Press via AP) The Associated Press

Paula Badosa, of Spain, falls on the court during her match against Canada's Rebecca Marino at the National Bank Open women's tennis tournament in Montreal, Wednesday, Aug. 11, 2021. (Paul Chiasson/The Canadian Press via AP) The Associated Press

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