Auger-Aliassime, Shapovalov make quick exit at Monte Carlo Masters

Canadians Felix Auger-Aliassime and Denis Shapovlaov are out of the Monte Carlo Masters tennis tournament after losing their first-round matches Monday.

Montreal's Auger-Aliassime, who was seeded 16th at the clay-court tournament, lost 7-6 (5), 6-3 to German qualifier Daniel Altmaier.

Altmaier came back from down an early break in the second set, then fought off triple break point in the final game to improve to 2-0 against Auger-Aliassime.

Shapovalov, from Richmond Hill, Ont., fell 6-3, 7-6 (5) to American Marcos Giron.

Giron won the final three points of the second-set tiebreaker, including match point on return, to improve to 3-1 against Shapovalov.

Shapovalov had six aces to Giron's one, but also committed four double-faults to none for Giron.

Medvedev grinds out 3-set win

Off to a slow 2025 start that has seen him fall out of the top 10 in the world rankings, Daniil Medvedev secured a 7-5, 4-6, 6-4 win over fellow Russian Karen Khachanov in opening-round play.

Both players had ample chances to win points on the other's serve, but neither took full advantage. Medvedev, the No. 9 seed, converted nine of 20 break chances, while Khachanov cashed in on eight of 16.

Medvedev could have closed out the match early, up a set and 4-1 in the second, but Khachanov peeled off five straight wins to snatch the set and tie the match.

But it was the service breaks that ultimately derailed Khachanov. Serving down 5-4 in the final set, Khachanov lost serve, handing Medvedev the match.

Medvedev, whose service was broken three times in the third set, pulled off four service breaks in the same stanza of the two-hour, 51-minute match. He also had to fight through cramps.

"I practised very well before the tournament, better than I played today, though I played well. It's the first match on clay — it's not my favoirite surface — so some important points and some shot decisions were not good enough," Medvedev said. "But I'm happy to win. I watched the matches today on clay and there were a lot of breaks; all of them were up and down.

"I don't think Karen hit one ace and he's a big server. So, it was pretty slow, but I'm happy with my level in general and looking forward."

Medvedev is seeking his first victory since 2023, when he won the ATP Masters 1000 in Rome on the clay courts. To advance, he'll need to defeat Alexandre Muller after the Frenchman beat qualifier Camilo Ugo Carabelli of Argentina 6-4, 6-4.

Other results Monday:

• Ben Shelton, the No. 11 seed, was knocked out by Alejandro Davidovich Fokina 6-7 (2), 6-2, 6-1. The Spaniard hasn't won since 2022 but reached finals in Delray Beach and Acapulco this season.
• Italy's Matteo Berrettini defeated Mariano Navone of Argentina 6-4, 6-4 in one hour, 48 minutes. His next opponent will be No. 1 seed Alexander Zverev of Germany. In their most recent meeting, on the grass courts in Wimbledon in 2023, Berrettini came out on top.
• Another Italian, No. 13 seed Lorenzo Musetti, beat China's Yunchaokete Bu 4-6, 7-5, 6-3 to set up a second-round match with Czech Jiri Lehecka, who took out Sebastian Korda 6-3, 7-6 (7).
• Chilean Alejandro Tabilo came from behind to defeat former Grand Slam champion Stan Wawrinka of Switzerland 1-6, 7-5, 7-5 to set up a meeting with Serbian great Novak Djokovic, the No. 3 seed.