Denis Shapovalov advances to Dubai tennis quarterfinals

DUBAI - Third seed Denis Shapovalov, playing his 200th career, advanced to the quarter-finals with a 6-4 6-3 win over Hubert Hurkacz at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships on Wednesday (March 17). Shapovalov was performing under the watchful eye of coach and former two-time Dubai finalist Mikhail Youzhny. The 21-year old Shapovalov produced a confident and aggressive performance to overcome an opponent he had lost to in their two previous meetings. He always held the edge in what was still a closely fought opening set, breaking to lead 2-1 and fighting off a break point to hold 5-3 before securing the set. The second set was more comfortable as Shapovalov again broke for 2-1, and although he failed to covert three more break points at 3-1 he broke serve once more in the final game. He has been waiting for his game to catch fire this season after losing his two matches in the ATP Cup, suffering a third round defeat at the Australian Open and winning just one match last week in Doha, where he fell to Taylor Fritz. He believes it is all coming together, but still issued a note of caution as he pursues his bid for a second career crown. "I played some really good tennis," said Shapovalov. "Obviously I've struggled against Hubert in the past and he's such a great player. He's got great weapons and is really tough to play against so I'm really happy to get my first win against him. With the way I was playing, I was really feeling it in the important points."

Hubert Hurkacz at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships on March 17, 2021. "I think every day is different. I happened to feel it yesterday, I happened to feel it today, but that doesn't mean I'm going to feel it tomorrow. I'm just going to go on the court and find a way to win and fight every point," Shapovalov said. "I really feel I've put in a lot of good work with Misha (Youzhny), especially after the Australian Open. We had a good training block so in that sense for sure I do feel confident in my game and how I'm feeling physically. I'm hoping to play as well tomorrow but it's never guaranteed," he said. The quarter-finals will see Shapovalov play Jeremy Chardy, Aslan Karatsev face Jannik Sinner, Andrey Rublev against Marton Fucsovics and Lloyd Harris take on Kei Nishikori. ICA/Expat Media

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