Juncheng Shang saves 5 match points, stuns Andrey Rublev in Montreal

Juncheng Shang of China pulled off a stunning upset, saving five match points to upend No. 10 seed Andrey Rublev of Russia 7-5, 4-6, 7-6 (5) in the second round of the National Bank Open on Tuesday in Montreal.

Shang, 21, is ranked 281st in the world.

Earning his fifth career Top-20 victory, Shang trailed 5-2 in the decisive third set. Shang saved the five match points on his own serve to pull even at 5-5. After falling behind 6-5, he forced a tiebreaker that was level before he won the final two points.

“Andrey is a great friend, a great competitor and a good champion,” said Shang, who saved 11 of 15 break points and overcame 12 aces by Rublev, who committed 68 unforced errors. “It is a pleasure to share the court with him since the last time we played in Hong Kong. But more happily, I’m healthy. I’m definitely playing my best tennis and just happy to be in Montreal.”

In the third round, Shang will face No. 19 seed Luciano Darderi of Italy, who advanced when Montreal native Gabriel Diallo retired from their second-round matchup while trailing 6-4, 2-3. Diallo sustained an apparent leg injury.

Canadian Denis Shapovalov also retired from his Tuesday match, stopping in the third set of his opening-round contest against Zachary Svajda.

Shapovalov was coming off a run to the final at an ATP 250 event last week in Los Cabos, Mexico, but he revealed Tuesday that he picked up an ankle injury in that match.

He trailed Svajda 6-4, 4-6, 0-3 when he ended the contest.

The former World No. 10, who has won four titles on tour but none this year, went on to express his frustration with injuries in what he described as “an annoying year.”

Svajda, who overcame 38 unforced errors as well as Shapovalov’s 6-of-9 mark in saving break points, will face No. 18 seed Arthur Fils of France in the second round.

In other second-round action, third-seeded Alex de Minaur eliminated Australian countryman James Duckworth 6-2, 7-6 (6); eighth-seeded Jiri Lehecka prevailed 6-4, 6-2 over Vit Kopriva in an all-Czech affair; 15th-seeded Frances Tiafoe overtook Croatia’s Marin Cilic 5-7, 6-2, 6-2; and 28th-seeded Brandon Nakashima cruised past Germany’s Daniel Altmaier 6-2, 6-1.

The majority of the first-round matches earlier in the day went the full three sets, and they weren’t going the Canadians’ way. Argentina’s Thiago Agustin Tirante beat Canadian qualifier Duncan Chan 6-3, 1-6, 7-6 (3), and Spaniard Daniel Merida rallied past Canadian wild card Liam Draxl 3-6, 6-4, 6-4.

Frenchman Terence Atmane saved 7 of 9 break points and hit nine aces in battling past British wild card Jack Draper 6-3, 2-6, 6-2. Poland’s Hubert Hurkacz knocked out Marcos Giron 7-5, 4-6, 6-2.

Other first-round winners included Tallon Griekspoor and Botic van de Zandschulp of the Netherlands, Argentina’s Sebastian Baez and Juan Manuel Cerundolo, Jenson Brooksby, France’s Valentin Royer, Hungary’s Fabian Marozsan, British qualifier Jacob Fearnley, Australian qualifier Alexei Popyrin and Greek qualifier Stefanos Tsitsipas.

In addition, Belgian 27th seed Alexander Blockx advanced to the third round via walkover against Spain’s Jaume Munar.

The final match of the night featured sixth-seeded Italian Flavio Cobolli and Germany’s Yannick Hanfmann.

–Field Level Media