Players at the top of the world rankings repeat it: the first match of a tournament is often difficult to win and Denis Shapovalov was no exception to this trend on Saturday at the Masters 1000 in Indian Wells.
The Canadian, 13and favorite in the Californian desert, needed more than 2h 30min to overcome Spaniard Alejandro Davidovich Fokina, 4-6, 6-4 and 6-2, in this second round meeting.
By virtue of his top-seeded status, it was his first game in this prestigious tournament, considered the most important after the four Grand Slam events.
Against the 45and world player, “Shapo” took a long time to find his bearings, he who is experiencing a checkered start to the season. Too generous in service – he offered eight break points to his opponent in the initial set – he quickly trailed by two games.
The 22-year-old managed to tie the game, but another break in service in the 10th game cost him the set and forced him to adjust his game.
What he succeeded. A recent semi-finalist in Dubai, after surprising defeats in Rotterdam and Doha, Shapovalov raised his first-ball success rate to finally eliminate the Spaniard.
A monster at the service
An encouraging stat, because the Ontarian will need his serve in the next round, in which he will face the very powerful American Reilly Opelka, 17 on Monday.and first in the series.
Breaks are very costly against such an opponent, whose face-off is almost unstoppable.
In the past year, Opelka has won an impressive 89% of his serving games, a statistic that earns him third place in the ATP, behind his compatriot John Isner and Switzerland’s Roger Federer.
The Canadian is 17and in this regard, with 83.5%.
“I’m not going to practice on a tennis court [dimanche], Shapovalov quipped after the game. I’m going to practice as a goalkeeper, on grass! »
Against Opelka, 13and player in the world will also have to limit double faults. He committed nine on Saturday, as well as no less than 57 unforced errors.
His seven aces and 30 winning moves helped him out.
“Shapo” remains however on good feelings vis-a-vis the American. He beat them in four sets at the start of the year, in the third round of the Australian Open. It was their only match in the main draw of a tournament to date.
Ninth-seeded Quebecer Félix Auger-Aliassime will make his comeback in Indian Wells around 3:30 p.m. Sunday against Dutchman Botic van de Zandschulp, 47and global. Félix won in straight sets the only clash between the two players, last year in Stockholm.