Canada’s Denis Shapovalov stuns Taylor Fritz at Dallas Open

Maybe this is a turning point for Denis Shapovalov.

The Canadian upset top seed and world No. 4 Taylor Fritz 2-6, 6-3, 7-6 (2) in the second round of the Dallas Open on Thursday.

Shapovalov, the world No. 54, recorded a mini-break on the first point of the tiebreak and never trailed the rest of the way.

Shapovalov, from Richmond Hill, Ont., has battled several injuries in recent years, dropping his ranking from a career-best of No. 10 in 2020. The latest win came over the reigning U.S. Open runner-up, setting up a quarterfinal on Friday against No. 6 seed Tomas Machac of Czechia.

Shapovalov now leads the lifetime series 6-4 against Fritz.

As is often the case, Shapovalov didn’t hold back from displaying his emotions on court.

In the first set, Shapovalov argued with the umpire about the graphics at the back of the court being a distraction.

After a game, he said: “Tennis is the show, not the graphics in the background.”