Shapovalov Surges Past Struff On Dubai Debut
Denis Shapovalov dominated right from the start against Jan-Lennard Struff in a 6-1, 6-3 second-round victory over 61 minutes on Tuesday at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships.
Third seed Shapovalov, who was making his debubt at the ATP 500 event, saved two break points in his opening service game and went on to win the first five games. The Canadian hit 26 winners and committed just six unforced errors to snap a four-match losing streak against Struff.
“It definitely wasn’t an easy win, as I’ve struggled against Struff in the past,” said Shapovalov. “I was a little bit nervous at the beginnning, but I got through those emotions and I’m very happy with the win. I picked my spots on serve and made as many returns as I could. The courts are quick, so it suits my game.”
The Canadian will next play Hubert Hurkacz, who struck 11 aces and lost nine of his service points (40/49) to defeat Richard Gasquet 6-3, 6-4 in 67 minutes. Gasquet recorded the 550th tour-level match win of his career on Monday at the Aviation Club in Dubai.
“He’s definitely a very difficult player,” said Shapovalov, looking ahead to his match against Hurkacz. “We have known each other since way, way back. I think we played each other in the junior Australian Open first round. We have seen each other go up through the [FedEx ATP] Rankings and he has a good serve and is very solid from the baseline.”
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Aslan Karatsev continued his fine run of form by beating 2020 semi-finalist Daniel Evans 6-4, 4-6, 6-4 in two hours and 22 minutes. Evans, who lifted his first ATP Tour title at the Murray River Open (d. Auger-Aliassime) last month, recovered from 2-4 down in the second set, but Karatsev won the first two games of the deciding set.
The Russian, who qualified for last month’s Australian Open and advanced to the semi-finals (l. to Djokovic), recovered from 15/40 when serving for the match and now plays Italian No. 17 seed Lorenzo Sonego, who beat Spanish qualifier Bernabe Zapata Miralles 6-2, 6-2.
Italian No. 16 seed Jannik Sinner worked his way back into his first ATP Head2Head meeting against Alexander Bublik of Kazakhstan for a 2-6, 7-6(2), 6-4 win over two hours and two minutes. The World No. 32, who picked up his second ATP Tour title at the Great Ocean Road Open (d. Travaglia) in Melbourne last month, will now play fourth-seeded Spaniard Roberto Bautista Agut.
"He is a great person and player," said Sinner, when asked about playing Bautista Agut next. "Everyone knows how good he is. He played really well in Doha and has a lot of confidence, so it won’t be easy against him."