In Washington, D.C., Canada’s Denis Shapovalov, 25, was disqualified while down triple match point due to a verbal outburst directed at a fan during his quarterfinal match against No. 2 seed Ben Shelton.
At the Mubadala Citi DC Open ATP 500 event, Shelton found himself with match points at 6-3 in the second set tiebreak. The second-seeded American had already won the first set in a tiebreak
During the Mubadala Citi DC Open ATP 500 event, Denis Shapovalov, after losing a point, repeatedly tossed his racquet onto the court. A rowdy fan then taunted him, prompting Shapovalov to yell a verbal obscenity at the fan.
Bizarre scenes followed when the chair umpire issued a code violation penalty for unsportsmanlike conduct to Shapovalov. The Canadian pleaded his case to umpire Greg Allensworth, saying, “What do you mean, he’s talking to me. I’m going to tell him. Give me a code but don’t call the supervisor.” However, the supervisor arrived on court, leading to a lengthy discussion while Ben Shelton waited for the drama to conclude. After the umpire and Shelton confirmed they heard Shapovalov’s outburst but not the fan, Shapovalov was ultimately disqualified.
After shaking hands with Shelton at the net, Shapovalov exchanged more words with the supervisor before leaving the court. The 21-year-old Shelton advanced into the semifinals with a score of 7-6(5), 6-6 (W/O) and will face Italy’s Flavio Cobolli.
Reflecting on the incident, Shelton said, “I don’t really have anything to say. It’s unfortunate that a high-level match like that, such a great match that was highly contested, just an all-out war, ended like that. You never want to see it. I think it was a tough situation all around.”
This isn’t the first high-profile default for Shapovalov. In 2017, a then 17-year-old Shapovalov was disqualified in a Davis Cup tie with Great Britain when he inadvertently struck the umpire in the eye after hitting a ball into the stands.
As a result of the disqualification in D.C., Shapovalov will lose all the money and ranking points he earned this week, and a further fine or suspension from the ATP is pending.