Denis Shapovalov is improving Canada’s excellent run as Davis Cup champs, bring their last winning ventures right into the brand-new period with a quarterfinal proving at the Adelaide International onThursday The 7th seed relocated pleasantly previous Roman Safiullin 6-4 6-3 on The Drive, the 2nd straight qualifier he has actually defeated following his first-round gain Australia’s Rinky Hijikata.
Now, his opponent in the quarterfinals will certainly be Serbian Novak Djokovic, the competition’s very first seed, that defeated Frenchman Quentin Halys in 2 limited collections. “Last year we started by winning the ATP Cup, we ended up winning the Davis Cup, so definitely the team events were a big success for me last year,” Shapovalov claimed.
“I’m definitely trying to implement that on the individual side. Obviously so far it’s been a great start. I hope I can capitalize on a good start to the week and I’m definitely excited for what’s to come.”
While it took him three sets to find his way past Hijikata, he raised his game to topple 88th-ranked Safiullin in 82 minutes thanks to 23 winners. The pair had never met in singles before, but Shapovalov remembered well combining with Felix Auger-Aliassime to narrowly edge out his opponent and Daniil Medvedev in the ATP Cup semifinals a year ago.
“Obviously from last year I know how tough Roman is. We had a very tough battle last year,” Shapovalov claimed. “I entered this suit all set to go, all set to fire on all cyndrical tubes, I left to a truly excellent begin this moment as well as I was able to lug it off.”
Nole on the support he has received
Back to winning ways Down Under, nine-time Australian Open champion Novak Djokovic also spoke about the support he has received from fans on his return to the country. “I honestly respect and appreciate the support, all the fans here this year, and particularly of the Serbian community has been very nice to me and to my team and making us feel very welcome.
I’m trying to use that energy that they are giving me to play my best tennis and win a match. Hopefully I give them some good sensations, as well, good feelings of watching me play,” Djokovic said. Novak Djokovic has ruled tennis alongside Rafael Nadal for many years now.
“I’ve seen numerous abilities with the years come with as well as obstacle, I think, us individuals on top that have actually been a lot more well established on top of the video game,” he claimed.
