Published: 21 January 2022
Last updated: 4 March 2024
Canadian young gun Denis Shapovalov leads the charge by the top Jewish men's and women's players but Argentine veteran Schwartzman falls in a major upset
THE THREE Jewish-born men’s singles players in this year’s Australian open had mixed fortunes in their early matches, with two surviving marathon five-setters but a third bowing out.
Russia’s Aslan Karatsev needed five sets and almost five hours to win his first match against Spain’s Jaume Munar, while Canadian young gun Denis Shapovalov had to do the same in his second-round clash on Wednesday against Korea’s Kwon Soon-woo.
However, Argentina’s pocket rocket Diego Schwartzman, the 13th seed, was beaten yesterday in straight sets by Australian wildcard, Chris O'Connell, ranked 175 in the world, who was boosted by a rowdy crowd in Melbourne's midday heat.
The women's 30th seed, Italy's Camila Giorgi, progressed comfortably and will face Australia's Ashleigh Barty under the lights at Rod Laver arena in the third round tonight.
Karatsev was forced to dig deep in his opening match, coming from two sets to one down, to beat Munar in an energy-sapping marathon. In the next round he shook off some initial weariness against American Mackenzie McDonald, before cruising through in four sets.
For his grafting, Karatsev, seeded 18, has been rewarded with a clash against the unseeded Frenchman, Adrian Mannarino, who surprised the in-form Polish tenth seed, Hubert Hurkacz in the second round. If Kartsev prevails, he will likely face Rafael Nadal in the fourth round.
Shapovalov, 22, is seeded 14 and seen by many as a future Grand Slam champion thanks to attacking flair and thrilling strokeplay, though he is also known for lapses of temperament. On Wednesday he showed distinct improvement in that area.
Having dispatched Serbia’s Laslo Djere in four sets in the first round, the left-hander found himself in a titanic battle in the second round with Kwon, eventually overpowering the Korean in five exhausting sets, the first three of them tie-breakers.
"Probably going to sleep in the ice bath tonight," Shapovalov joked during a post-match interview. “I’m really happy to get the win today.
“There's only one thing you can do when things aren't going your way, and that's to fight and to try to give everything you have."
Denis still has a lot to improve. that’s the beauty of his game. He has so many weapons, so much power; he is so athletic.
Shapovalov will face the tall, big-serving American Reilly Opelka, seeded 23, in the third round.
Oded Jacob, who coached Karatsev in Israel’s junior national team, and also mentored Shapovalov in Canada, believes both of his former charges can go deep into this year’s tournament.
“Aslan is a threat to every opponent he plays at this year’s Australian Open,” Jacob told The Jewish Independent in an exclusive interview this week.
“The top Next Gen players (the successors to Federer, Djokovic and Nadal) are intimidated by this type of player, especially remembering that he had an amazing run Downunder a year ago.”
In 2021, Israeli-bred Karatsev, who now lives in Russia, made a remarkable run to the semi-finals as an unknown qualifier. At the time Jacob, predicted he could make the Top 30.
When the tournament started this week, Karatsev, 28, was seeded 18. “I am not too surprised,” Jacob said. “it’s been an amazing year for him (winning three titles). The level he has been playing is incredible. He has all the weapons and the consistency.
“The maturity of being 28 years old has helped him show this maturity, in comparison to the younger guns who are 19 or 20; they lack that experience of life and maturity,” Jacob said on the eve of the tournament.
Aslan is a threat to every opponent he plays at this year’s Australian Open.
Oded Jacob says Shapovalov “still has a lot to improve. And that’s the beauty of his game. He has so many weapons, so much power, so athletic.
“He has already proved he can go deep in grand slams (Shapovalov reached the semi-finals at Wimbledon in 2021). He might not be ready yet, especially when we’re talking about two weeks of best-of-five sets; the consistency may not be there yet for that long.
The challenges of winning a grand slam are much greater than all others, Jacob said. “It’s not best of three sets over a week, it’s best of five over two weeks; it requires consistency, mental strength day in day out to overcome difficulties, to find solutions, to know how to win even on an ugly day when things are not working.”
Shapovalov’s victory on Wednesday showed he is certainly moving along that path.
Argentina’s veteran Diego Schwartzman, now 29, and seeded 13, knows all about the grind, having reached the semi-finals in Paris in 2020, and the fourth round here twice. However, he was not prepared for O'Connell's penetrating backhand and ability to consistently lob the diminutive Argentine when he came to the net.
Schwartzman was also unnerved by the partisan crowd, whose heckling and support for the home player prompted him to complain to the umpire.
IN THE WOMEN’S DRAW, Italy’s Camila Giorgi, seeded 30, will face Australia’s top seed Ash Barty today in the third round after two easy wins. If she upsets Barty, things won’t get any easier for the Italian. In addition to sending Australians into a deep funk, Giorgi will face Naomi Osaka in the fourth round.
American Madison Brengle had the bad luck to meet Osaka in the second round, and lost 6-0 6-4.
The other Jewish player still in the tournament is Israel’s veteran’s doubles player Jonathan Erlich, still competing at the top level at the age of 44.
Erlich, who won the Australian Open doubles title in 2008 with fellow Israeli Andy Ram, partnered Sweden’s Andrew Goransson in their first-round match against Australians Max Purcell and Matt Ebden yesterday, but were beaten in straight sets, 7-6 6-3.
Main photo: Canada's Denis Shapovalov after beating Korean Kwon Soon-woo (James Ross/AAP)
