Canadians all out of singles

Shapovalov, a semifinalist last year, eliminated in the second round

WIMBLEDON, ENGLAND It was Canada crushed and crashed out.

No Canadians left in singles competition at the All England Club, as Denis Shapovalov followed Bianca Andreescu — literally — off Court 12 and along the well-worn path to “maybe next time,” whence Félix Auger-Aliassime had disappeared 48 hours earlier, one day after Rebecca Marino.

But the 23-year-old southpaw from Richmond Hill was a Wimbledon semifinalist a year ago, so it’s a precipitous decline — and seventh defeat in his last eight matches. Turning into a bit of a worrisome pattern. Though Shapovalov is now done with grass and clay for the season, and can hopefully refocus turning to the hardcourt stretch.

His second-round match on day four was a four-set loss to 20-yearold Brandon Nakashima, part of an eight-American surge into the third stage at SW19 and first-time opponent for the 13th-seeded Shapovalov.

In his defence, if not quite an excuse, Shapovalov admitted he was feeling the ill-effects of a five-setter on Tuesday, which left him fatigued and taking painkillers for a strained left abductor. “I was struggling physically today … definitely not 100 per cent.”

Adding: “I hope it’s nothing serious. Of course now I have some time to rest before the hardcourt season, so hopefully I will have some time. It’s always tricky on grass. You have little slips that kind of wear on you physically, you know? We’ll reassess it tonight and see how it’s going.”

How it went was 6-2, 4-6, 6-1, 7-6. With a flash of amusement in the second set when Shapovalov’s racket weirdly got caught in his necklace. That wasn’t his most perplexing moment, however, on an afternoon when the usually crisp shotmaker overcooked and shanked too often, with returns a metre long and eight double faults. Played too many loose points, and gave his No. 56-ranked opponent too many looks from the back of the court.

Nakashima, meanwhile, unspooled an impressively consistent effort, firing 22 winners while committing a mere 14 unforced errors over the course of two hours and 19 minutes.

“He stayed extremely solid,” said Shapovalov. “Was very difficult to find weaknesses. Didn’t give me much at all to fish for. He was just playing a great match: serving well, returning well. Played really well from the back. It was tough for me to find a lot of solutions.”

Biggest upset of the day, though — and certainly the most delightful for the Centre Court spectators — was British wild-card Katie Boulter’s stunning fight-back elimination of 2021 runner-up Karolina Pliskova, who yet again was foiled in her endlessly unsuccessful bid for a first major title. Boulter battled upward from a one-set deficit, taking the second in a tiebreak against the No. 6-seeded Czech. From there on, Pliskova simply couldn’t keep up with her dogged opponent, falling 3-6, 7-6, 6-4.

It was the second time in a fortnight that Boulter had defeated Pliskova, duplicating the result at Eastbourne.

Tearfully, Boulter revealed that her grandmother had died just two days ago. “I’m getting so emotional. I’d like to dedicate it to her.”

A dandy day for Brits, with Liam Broady and Heather Watson also advancing to the third round. Brody, likewise a wild card, took out No. 12 seed Diego Schwartzman in an epic five-setter: 6-2, 4-6, 0-6, 7-6, 6-1.

World No. 4 Rafael Nadal ran into a spot of trouble against Ricardas Berankis of Lithuania, ranked 106th. Far from a dominance performance by the Spaniard, who’s halfway to a calendar Slam after triumphing at the Australian and French Opens. Neither player could build up massive leads, mostly trading games through the match. But Nadal eventually asserted himself — 13 aces helped — and prevailed 6-4, 6-4. 4-6, 6-3.

For a while, it looked like the 36match winning streak of world No. 1 Iga Swiatek was in serious jeopardy. The hot Pole spent much of the unexpectedly tricky tilt in the danger zone against Lesley Pattinama Kerkhove, ranked 138th. Looking nervous from the start, Swiatek won the first game but then lost the next five, as Pattinama Kerkhove broke her twice before Swiatek managed to pull out the frame.

The Dutchwoman kept pressing though, claiming the second set. Visibly angry with herself, Swiatek got it together in the third to emerge with the 6-4, 4-6, 6-3 win. Only a handful of players have managed to take a set off Swiatek across her four-month zoom.

A paramount performance was unleashed by Nick Kyrgios — an eye-popping 93 per cent on his first serve — over Serb Filip Krajinovic, dispatched 6-2, 6-3, 6-1 with just one minor outburst against the chair umpire by the irascible Australian who actually spit at a heckling spectator in his previous round, drawing a $10,000 (U.S.) fine.

After this match, he hustled the crowd: “I want to remind everyone that I’m pretty good.”