Denis Shapovalov warned Monday his body was taking a beating.
Some 24 hours later, the Canadian couldn’t finish his opening match at the National Bank Open presented by Rogers.
Shapovalov was forced to retire with an ankle injury while trailing American Zachary Svajda 3-0 in the third set of his first-round match Tuesday afternoon.
“It's a very special tournament for me so I wanted to go out there and give it my best effort,” said the 27-year-old from Richmond Hill, Ont., almost two hours after withdrawing. “The body just got worse and the body kept telling me no.”
Shapovalov appeared in control early, taking the opening set 6-4 with an ace on set point, displaying the attacking flair that once endeared him to the Montreal crowd. But the injury reached a breaking point while serving late in the second set, which he lost 6-4.
The world No. 43 winced in pain and took an off-court medical timeout at IGA Stadium. He returned after roughly 10 minutes, but his movement was noticeably limited before he retired after one hour 40 minutes.
“Just couldn't get past the finish line,” he said. “Felt like other parts of my body were starting to go.
"I started having muscle tension and problems in my hamstring and my quad. I started to feel my knee, so it was just a combination of things that got pretty bad, from overcompensating for the ankle.”
Shapovalov arrived here late Sunday after failing to defend his title at the ATP 250 event in Los Cabos, Mexico, with a loss to Arthur Géa in Saturday’s final.
That’s where the ankle problem started — and the cross-continental travel with a short turnaround to play in Montreal didn’t help.
He described the last few days as “pretty painful,” noting that even stepping onto centre court Tuesday wasn’t a guarantee.
"It was tough,” he said. “I felt like I was hitting really well yesterday and this morning in the warm-up, but yeah, it was a question mark. Even today during the warm-up, we weren't sure.”
“Definitely with how bad the body got today, it's probably not great that I stepped on court today,” he later added.
Shapovalov also spoke Monday about struggling physically this season with a rib fracture, shoulder injury and knee problems, tempering expectations at the ATP Masters 1000 tournament.
He’s still searching for his first win since 2019 at the Canadian Open, where he made a name for himself on the professional tour nine years ago.
Just 18, Shapovalov stunned top-seeded Spanish legend Rafael Nadal en route to a semifinal berth at the 2017 tournament in Montreal.
The stylish, free-swinging talent — then sporting a backwards ball cap — later cracked the ATP top 10 at 21, but saw his ranking plummet as low as 140th after a serious knee injury derailed his 2023 season and extended into 2024.
Shapovalov climbed to 23rd in an under-the-radar comeback last year, but the injuries have prevented him from riding that momentum this season.
“Been an annoying year," he said. “One thing after another, it feels like. So it's frustrating, but look, I played Wimbledon with a fractured rib. I played here with a swollen ankle. And, yeah, I'm still competing. I'm still close to these guys.”
Svajda, ranked 87th in the world, advances to face 18th-seeded Arthur Fils of France in the second round.
Meanwhile, Shapovalov will assess whether he can play at the Cincinnati Open, with main-draw matches beginning Aug. 13.
“The key for me is to try to take a bit more time and be healthy,” he said. “Unfortunately this tour nowadays is very unforgiving. There's not many weeks where you can just sit back and rest.
“I might have to start making some of those tougher calls soon, just prioritizing the body, because I know that if I'm healthy and I'm playing well, I'm able to produce a high level.”
Earlier on Tuesday, Canadian qualifier Duncan Chan exited the tournament with a first-round loss to Thiago Agustin Tirante of Argentina.
Ranked 601st in the world, Chan fell 6-3, 1-6, 7-6 (3) in two hours one minute after upsetting No. 90 Hugo Gaston of France to qualify for the men’s singles main draw.
Much like his qualifying match, the 21-year-old from Markham, Ont., watched spectators fill the bleachers around one of the venue’s smaller courts in the third set. After the loss, he signed autographs for a lineup of fans, a first in his young career.
“I saw no seats available, so I was like, ‘Oh, pretty good,’” he said. “There's so much support in Montreal and it's a different feeling having so many behind you and getting the energy from the crowd."
Chan returns next week to Texas Christian University, where his studies will take a back seat to tennis as he enters his senior year.
“Economics, but uh… not really, I guess,” he said when asked what he majored in. “I just pass.”
He plans to play in the NCAA until May before testing his stuff on the professional tours.
Elsewhere, Liam Draxl of Newmarket, Ont., dropped his first-round match 3-6, 6-4, 6-4 to Spain’s Daniel Merida and former world No. 3 Stefanos Tsitsipas of Greece advanced to the second round with a 6-4, 6-4 victory over American qualifier Martin Damm Jr.
Montreal’s Gabriel Diallo was scheduled to face 19th seed Luciano Darderi of Italy in the second round Tuesday evening.
Félix Auger-Aliassime, also from Montreal, is this year's main attraction as the world No. 4 and second seed.
The 25-year-old is set to open his tournament in the second round Wednesday night against France’s Titouan Droguet. The match was pushed back from Tuesday after heavy rain derailed the first two days of main-draw action in Montreal.
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