"We back to complete nonsense again?" - Denis Shapovalov's shock disqualification at Citi Open leaves Christopher Eubanks & Alexander Bublik stumped

Christopher Eubanks and Alexander Bublik have expressed their views on Denis Shapovalov's disqualification during his 2024 Citi Open quarterfinal against Ben Shelton.

The quarterfinal match between Shelton and Shapovalov ended with a walkover for the American, with scores of 7-6(5), 6-6(3). Shapovalov, who had earlier received a code violation for racquet abuse, threw his racket to the floor once more and responded verbally to a heckler while Shelton was leading with three match points in the tiebreak of the second set. Consequently, Shapovalov was disqualified by the umpire.

ATP stars Alexander Bublik and Christopher Eubanks expressed their displeasure with the incident hours after the match on Friday. Eubanks posted on X that he was curious about what could be said to a spectator that would warrant a default.

“I’m curious what you can possibly say to a spectator that’ll get you defaulted” - Christopher Eubanks said.

World No. 25 Alexander Bublik also voiced his disappointment, questioning the ATP's decision and hyperbolically suggesting that in the future, players might be defaulted for merely looking at a spectator the wrong way.

“We back to complete nonsense again? @atptour. Next time we going to get defaulted because we looked at the spectator the "wrong way" but they can do and say whatever they want?” - Bublik said.

This decision also did not sit well with Shelton, who was seen sympathizing with Denis Shapovalov after the match. Shelton will now face tenth seed Flavio Cobolli in the semifinal on Saturday (August 3).

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Denis Shapovalov’s next tournament is the National Bank Open

2024 French Open - Day 5 - Source: Getty

Denis Shapovalov has received a wild card to participate in the 2024 National Bank Open. The Canadian missed the 2023 edition due to a knee injury and will compete for the trophy this season alongside 2023 champion Jannik Sinner, 2017 champion Alexander Zverev, as well as Daniil Medvedev, Hubert Hurkacz, Felix Auger-Aliassime, Taylor Fritz, Stefanos Tsitsipas, Ben Shelton, and many others.

A couple of ATP stars within the top 10 will miss the ATP 1000 tournament. World No. 2 and four-time champion Novak Djokovic will be absent due to a schedule change, Carlos Alcaraz will miss the event due to fatigue, and Alex de Minaur has withdrawn due to a hip injury.

Denis Shapovalov, who reached a career-high ranking of No.10 in September 2020, has had a challenging 2024 season, slumping to No. 139 in the ATP rankings despite starting the year as World No. 109.

The 25-year-old, who first participated in the tournament in 2016, has competed in it five other times. His best performance came in 2017 when he defeated Rogério Dutra da Silva, Juan Martín del Potro, Rafael Nadal, and Adrian Mannarino before being eliminated in the semifinals by eventual winner Alexander Zverev.