After beating Rafael Nadal, Israeli-Canadian teen loses in semifinals of Montreal tournament

Denis Shapovalov saw his world ranking rise to 66 from 143 with his performance in the Rogers Cup.

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(JTA) — Israeli-born teenager Denis Shapovalov, who had upset top-seeded Rafael Nadal in Montreal’s Rogers Cup tennis tournament, lost in his semifinal match.

Fourth-seeded Alexander Zverev of Germany defeated Shapovalov, 18, on Saturday night.

Shapovalov is a Canadian who was born in Tel Aviv. His parents had emigrated from the former Soviet Union.

On Friday, Shapovalov advanced out of the quarterfinals by defeating Adrian Mannarino of France, 2-6, 6-3, 6-4.

The previous night he beat Nadal, the world’s No. 2 ranked player, 3-6, 6-4, 7-6 (4).

Shapovalov is the second youngest player ever to defeat Nadal since the Spanish champion turned pro in 2001. Earlier in the tournament he upset the 2009 U.S. Open champion, Juan Martin Del Potro.

He became the youngest player to reach the tournament’s quarterfinals since Bjorn Borg in 1974. His world ranking rose to 66 from 143.

Argentine Diego Schwartzman, the world’s top-ranked Jewish player at 36, lost Friday in the quarterfinals against Holland’s Robin Haase, ranked 52.

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