Canadian ninth seed Denis Shapovalov hit out at French Open organizers after his elimination from the men’s singles tournament as he criticized everything from the balls to the biosecure bubble to the schedule of the tournament.
Shapovalov served twice for the match, but eventually lost out to Spain’s world No. 101 Roberto Carballes Baena 7-5, 6-7, 6-3, 3-6, 8-6 after a five-hour epic.
And, after his singles involvement in the oft-criticized tournament came to an end on Thursday, Shapovalov took aim at the tournament’s administrators for failing to produce an environment and a tournament that gave the players the chance to compete at their best.
Shapovalov arrived at Roland Garros in solid form and had been earmarked as a potential dark horse for the tournament after breaking into the Top 10.
But he struggled to deal with the slow-playing court and the heavy tennis balls used at the tournament that have attracted criticism from a number of players.
“These conditions were completely stacked against me,” Shapovalov, who reached his first Grand Slam quarter-final at the recent US Open, said.
“It’s impossible to hit a winner with these balls. In my opinion, it shouldn’t be that heavy and that difficult.”
