Tennis

Canada’s Shapovalov falls to top seed De Minaur in second-round at Queen’s Club

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Denis Shapovalov of Canada in action against Britain's Jack Pinnington Jones on day eight of the Tennis Championships at The Queen's Club, London, Monday, June 15, 2026. (Adam Davy/PA via AP) (Adam Davy)

LONDON — Australia’s Alex de Minaur continued his mastery of Canada’s Denis Shapovalov on the ATP Tour with a 6-4, 6-1 win in second-round action Wednesday at the HSBC Championships.

De Minaur, the top seed at the ATP 500 grass-court event at West London’s Queen’s Club, improved to 6-0 against Shapovalov on the top men’s tennis circuit.

Shapovalov’s last win against de Minaur came nine years ago and about 18 kilometres away, when he beat the Australian in the final round of qualifying for the Challenger-level Surbiton Trophy.

Shapovalov out-aced de Minaur 7-0 in Wednesday’s match at Andy Murray Arena and had 16 winners to his opponent’s nine. But he also hit into nine double-faults and was broken five times on 11 chances.

De Minaur, ranked No. 6 in the world, saved three of four break points and made 11 unforced errors, compared to 29 committed by Shapovalov.

Shapovalov has dropped six of his last seven singles matches and has a 9-13 record this year.

De Minaur, who defeated Montreal’s Gabriel Diallo in the first round, will next face Brandon Nakashima of the United States.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 17, 2026.

The Canadian Press