WATCH | Canada knocked out of Davis Cup after Denis Shapovalov hits chair umpire

WATCH | Canada knocked out of Davis Cup after Denis Shapovalov hits chair umpire

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Great Britain won their Davis Cup tie against Canada after Denis Shapovalov was defaulted for unintentionally hitting the umpire in the face with a ball. The teenager, much to the shock of the spectators, smashed the ball in anger after he was broken by Kyle Edmund in the third set of their match.

With the tie in the balance at 2-2, the singles match between Denis Shapovalov and Kyle Edmund was the decider in the World Group Stage’s first round clash between Canada and Great Britain in Ottawa on Sunday.

Shapovalov was trailing his opponent 6-3, 6-4, and was broken once again in the third game of the third set by Edmund. The 17-year-old took out his frustration on the ball and in his attempt to smash it out of the arena, Shapovalov hit the chair umpire on his face, completely unintentionally as his reaction suggested. As the umpire held his face and the Canadian rushed to check his well-being and apologize, the crowd were stunned to silence.

Despite his apology, Edmund was awarded the match by default and with it, Great Britain won the tie 3-2 to progress to the quarterfinals of the competition, where they will now face France.

After the match, Shapovalov said that he was “incredibly ashamed and embarrassed” by his behavior, and has apologized to the nation and his teammates for letting them down.

“I went back and spoke to the umpire afterward and apologized directly to him.

“Luckily he was okay but obviously it’s unacceptable behavior from me. I feel incredibly ashamed and embarrassed and I just feel awful for letting my team down, for letting my country down, for acting in a way that I would never want to act.

“I can promise that’s the last time I will do anything like that. I’m going to learn from this and try to move past it,” Shapovalov was quoted saying by the Guardian.

British Captain Leon Smith expressed his sympathy for the teenager after the game. He said, “It is a surprise what happened at the end there and it is a shame. I feel for the young lad. He’s a great talent and he has learned a harsh lesson,” reported the BBC.

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