Novak Djokovic started his quest towards the Shanghai Masters title with a win over the Canadian player, Denis Shapovalov. The world’s No.1 didn’t have any problems against the youngster, and after 70 minutes of play, he defeated him with 6-3, 6-3.
It is the third win for Djokovic against the Canadian in the same number of matches. The previous two were at the Australian Open and Rome Masters both this season.
Djokovic’s win wasn’t questionable at all, and the 16-time Grand Slam champ was in control from the beginning until the end. Novak lost just one point on his serve in the opening set and made a key break point in the 8th game of that sequence. Previously he had chances to take the opponent’s serve in two games, but the Canadian managed to prevent that with excellent first serves.
Novak was constantly sending deep shots forcing the rival to back out and to stay away from the baseline. That decreased Shapovalov’s efficiency and productivity, but also enabled him to play as he knows.
The only time Djokovic had a slight slowdown, was at the beginning of the second set when Shapovalov had a chance for a break point. But the Joker responded very well, avoiding any problems, and winning a long rally, which a bit demoralized Shapovalov.
The Canadian was trying to catch the momentum and was encouraging himself in those moments, but he simply didn’t have enough quality to turn the tables. Eventually, with 2-2 in the second set, his concentration dropped, and Djokovic felt that. His experience sensed that it is time to finish the job, and the no.1 took another break. It was the end of all hopes for Shapovalov.
Djokovic swiftly closed the match, and with two very nice points in the last game of the contest, put an end on this event.
He will now face John Isner. The American defeated Lucas Pouille in straight sets. The two met 11 times so far, and the Serbian has 9 wins. The last match was at the Masters Finals in London in 2018, with Djokovic routinely beating Isner 6-4, 6-3.
Djokovic wants to secure the No.1 position for the end of the season, which would make him the only player alongside Pete Sampras, who ended 6 seasons on the top of the ATP caravan. He is reigning champion here, by winning the title in the last campaign without a single set lost.
The Joker did the same thing during the previous week in Tokyo.
As for Shapovalov, the youngster needs to find his rhythm and improve the current ranking, which is not reflecting his true potential. The 20-year old is 36th, while his best ranking was at No.20.
In other matches played this morning, Alexander Zverev defeated Jeremy Chardy after two tie breaks. The first one was a superb sequence for all the fans, as the German managed to defeat the veteran French with 15-13. David Goffin eliminated Mikhail Kukushkin, who retired in the second set, while Andrey Rublev smashed John Millman with 6-2, 6-0. The other Russian, Karen Khachanov beat Taylor Fritz 6-2, 6-4.
