A home crowd, and then the trainer
Denis Shapovalov wanted a run in front of his own fans. He got two sets and a swollen ankle instead. The Canadian pulled out of his National Bank Open opener on Tuesday, trailing Zachary Svajda 6-4, 4-6, 0-3 when he stopped in Montreal.
He had arrived carrying a problem. Shapovalov picked up the ankle injury a week earlier during his run to the final in Los Cabos, and the pain never eased. Travel made it worse. By the third set against Svajda, the former world No. 10 could not push off the leg.
“It’s been pretty painful the last few days,” Shapovalov said. “Playing in Canada, I wanted to make my best effort in front of the fans. I just couldn’t get past the finish line.”
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An “annoying year”
The 27-year-old did not hide his frustration. He owns four tour titles but none in 2026, and the season has been a string of interruptions. Shapovalov played Wimbledon with a fractured rib. He played Montreal with a swollen ankle. The pattern is wearing on him.
“Even weeks like Munich, where I was building momentum, got interrupted by pains and aches,” he said. “It’s one thing after another. The key for me is to take a bit more time and be healthy.”
Svajda moves on to face France’s 18th seed Arthur Fils in the second round. The early Tuesday schedule punished the Canadians across the board, with Duncan Chan and Liam Draxl both falling in three sets.
What comes next
The US Open sits just weeks away, and Shapovalov now has to weigh rest against match play. He kept repeating that he is still close to the top guys. Staying on court long enough to prove it has been the harder part.
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