The Canadian Denis Shapovalov walked off with a win which was much required considering that he arrived in Rome on a four-match losing streak. Shapovalov beat Pablo Carreno-Busta 6-3 7-6(5) and reached the second round of the Italian Open.
The 20-year-old has done well in the ATP Masters 1000 tournaments at least on hard courts, he reached in the semifinals in Miami in March this year where he lost to Federer 6-2 6-4. The world no.22 has been impressive on clay as well, he advanced to the last four in Madrid in 2018.
The Match
In the first set, Shapovalov broke the serve of Carreno-Busta in the 4th game to lead the set 4-1. Thereafter the Canadian held on his serve to win the set 6-3.
The second set was a close one with both the players holding on their serve to equal at 6-6.
Finally, Shapovalov emerged the winner winning the tiebreak, set and the match.
Shapovalov had a big advantage in terms of winning points on the 2nd serve, he converted 75% of opportunities on the 2nd serve.
Shapovalov had very good control on the match, he looked aggressive and showed a great variety in his service. His control on the match can be understood by the fact that he did not face a break point in the match, on the other hand, he earned 12 breakpoints.
Shapovalov won 6-3 7-6(5) in 1 hour and 35 minutes.
Shapovalov will now play world no.1 and Madrid Open Champion Novak Djokovic. The world no.1 defeated the Canadian in Australian Open in the third round by 6-3 6-4 4-6 6-0. He was one of the two players who took a set against the Serbian in the tournament.
Excellent Stuff!
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