Denis Shapovalov ran into a wall named Rafael Nadal in his Australian Open quarter-final duel, eventually losing in five sets 6-3, 6-4, 4-6, 3 -6 and 6-3 in the night from Monday to Tuesday.
The Canadian did not seem in the game in the first set, when he was broken in the fourth game. He even seemed disoriented at the start of the second set, he who was first involved in a war of words with the match referee, before blaming his opponent for taking too long before serving.
Nevertheless, the 14e world racket was able to raise his game a notch, without however managing to worry the Spaniard, who occupies the fifth position of the ATP. He was finally broken in the seventh game, which proved decisive.
The Canadian managed to level the score, but he faltered in the fifth and final round, where the Spaniard was incisive.
The problems of “Shapo” with the balls in hand were felt, he who only converted 25% of his first balls. He also only won 58% of rallies when his first attempt was in play.
Moreover, Shapovalov had 20 aces against 5 double faults, while Nadal had eight aces against 11 double faults throughout the match which lasted 4:10.
In the next round, whoever tries to add a 21e Grand Slam title on his list will face the winner of the duel between the Frenchman Gaël Monfils (20e) to the Italian Matteo Berrettini (7e), Tuesday morning.