Despite not having his best game of his career, Denis Shapovalov found a way to win to advance to the second round of the Australian Open last night.
• Read also: No surprise for Lapierre
• Read also: Serbia fumes over ‘outrageous’ Djokovic expulsion from Australia
• Read also: Australia: Novak Djokovic soon fixed on his possible expulsion
The Canadian won 7-6 (3), 6-4, 3-6 and 7-6 (3) against Serbian Laslo Djere, 51st player in the world.
Shapovalov took a 2-0 lead in the innings. After a checkered first run, he found his bearings in the second.
It was believed that he was disturbed towards an after all easy victory. However, it was bad to know Djere. The Serb hung on while taking advantage of Shapovalov’s numerous unforced errors.
In the last inning, the southpaw took an early 5-2 lead. On the other hand, he experienced a drop in speed to let his opponent win three points in a row.
We felt that the rhythm was shifting towards Djere because of Shapovalov’s game which was not on point. Like all players, the 14th seed regrouped and found a way to put the finishing touches to this first triumph of the week.
It was not a great performance from him. We can expect him to make corrections in training and deliver a better performance in his second duel, which is scheduled for Tuesday evening, Montreal time.
New coach
During this meeting, it was Jamie Delgado, the former coach of Andy Murray, who provided advice to Shapovalov.
This association is quite recent. They would only work together for a few weeks.
Russian Mikhail Youzhny was Shapovalov’s mentor for the past two years.
Rust at the start
Shapovalov did not get the start he wanted. Djere broke the Canadian’s serve in the first game of the match.
The Serb put his opponent in an awkward position. Shapovalov needed a few plays to get back into the game. Pulling from the back, the southpaw got going.
In the tenth game, he showed character by saving two set points. This was a decisive point. From then on, Shapovalov found his touch to get his hands on the first set in the tiebreaker.
Félix Auger-Aliassime and Leylah Fernandez will play their first-round match late Monday evening, Montreal time. As for Rebecca Marino, her duel will be presented early Tuesday morning.