Published: 23 January 2022
Last updated: 4 March 2024
The Canadian left-hander faces Germany's Alexander Zverev today, the sole survivor among Jewish-born players after Aslan Karatsev and Camila Giorgi lost their third round clashes
Denis Shapovalov had a robust preparation for today's clash with German third seed Alexander Zverev in his third round victory over American giant Reilly Opelka on Friday.
Shapo, 22, as he is known around the courts, battled through in four sets against the 2.11m tall Opelka (just under seven feet in the old measurement) in a match dominated by big serves and short points.
The victory set up a tantalising fourth round test against the big-serving German third seed Zverev, and will provide an indication of whether Shapovalov has the maturity to go deep into the tournament.
Shapovalov's progress was the only bright spot in an otherwise dismal round for Jewish-born players.
Russian Aslan Karatsev, the 18th seed, lost a four-set marathon against journeyman French player Adrian Mannarino that lasted almost four and a half hours and finished well after 2am on Saturday morning, in front of just a few hundred fans.
Their battle of attrition was the opposite of Shapovalov's match, as both players became bogged down in endless rallies and countless deuces. The loss against the unfancied Frenchman was a missed opportunity for Karatsev, who could have found himself playing Rafael Nadal on the centre court today if he had won.
Meanwhile, the last Jewish woman in the draw, Italian Camila Giorgi, did not even have room for hope in her clash with Ash Barty on the centre court. The Australian top seed outclassed Giorgi 6-2 6-3 in little over an hour.
Main photo: Canada's Denis Shapovalov after beating Korean Kwon Soon-woo (James Ross/AAP)
