ACAPULCO — Canadian Denis Shapovalov came up on the short end of two tiebreakers and, as a result, came up one victory shy of reaching the men's singles final at the ATP 500 Mexican Open in Acapulco.
The Richmond Hill, Ont., ace lost 7-6 (3), 7-6 (1) to Alejandro Davidovich Fokina of Spain in Friday's tense semifinal that took two hours 18 minutes to play.
Shapovalov finished the match with two aces, three double faults, and 58 unforced errors. His opponent had no aces, two double faults and 53 unforced errors.
The Canadian saved six of 10 break points and won four of 12 return games. His first serve percentage was 54 per cent compared to his opponent's 70 per cent. That was the only stat that showed separation between the players in the final four showdown.
Shapovalov won 67 per cent of his service games and 33 per cent of his return games. Davidovich Fokina Had identical stats.
"The match was so tight," Davidovich Fokina said. "The first set maybe he deserved it more. The second set I deserved it maybe. But at the end I didn't lose the fight against him because I was ready for everything at the end.
"It's not every day I'm in the semifinals of (an ATP) 500. I'm very happy how I fought back for the first set and how I continued in the second set. It was not easy when he came back."
The Spaniard's victory ended Shapovalov's eight-match winning streak, the longest run of the Canadian's career, which dated back to the start of his Dallas title run.
The Spaniard will face Tomas Machac of Czechia in Saturday's final. Machac defeated American Brandon Nakashima 6-4, 1-6, 6-4 in Friday's semifinal.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 28, 2025.
The Canadian Press
