Carlos Alcaraz is the King of Tennis Paradise right now and Denis Shapovalov got a taste of his dominance on Monday night. The Canadian was knocked out in the third round of Indian Wells by the two-time defending champion in straight sets.
The Spaniard asserted himself early and even though Shapovalov refused to go away quietly, he was never able to reel Alcaraz back in, falling 6-2, 6-4.
This was the third year in a row that Alcaraz defeated a Canadian at the BNP Paribas Open, having beaten Félix Auger-Aliassime each of the last two years at the Masters 1000 event.
Shapovalov’s serve was not as effective as he needed it to be on Monday night. He put just 53 per cent of his first serves in play, only won 36 per cent of his second-serve points, and double-faulted eight times. He was broken four times on eight opportunities while only converting one of his four chances.
It took Alcaraz little time to seize control. A couple of big forehands, including a monster winner down the line on break point, allowed him to land a blow in the opening game of the match. In the Canadian’s next service game, he had to fight back from 15-40 down but an Alcaraz return winner set up another break point where Shapovalov missed a backhand to go down a double break.
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There were signs that the Canadian could get himself back into it, but Alcaraz seemed to have all the answers. He saved a pair of break points at 3-0 and then dropped in a forehand passing shot to break for a third time in the following game. While Shapovalov did finally get on the board in the sixth game, breaking the first time Alcaraz served for it at 5-0 and then getting his first hold, it was too big a hole to dig out of as the Spaniard served it out at the second time of asking.
Shapovalov seemed to take some confidence from his improved finish to the first set and got off to a better start in the second, hanging with the Spaniard through six games. But at 3-3, a double fault from the Canadian put him behind 15-40 and on the second break point, Alcaraz blasted a too-hot-to-handle backhand down the line to score the break.
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That was all the Spaniard needed as he held his final two service games to secure the win.
With Shapovalov’s loss, no Canadians remain in Indian Wells. Next stop will be the second leg of the Sunshine Double in Miami, which gets underway next week.
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