Tennis News: Canadian tennis player Denis Shapovalov didn’t allow himself to be overwhelmed by the disappointment of losing in the Korean Open final in Seoul last week.
The seventh seed executed her serve almost perfectly en route to claiming victory over Steve Johnson in the first round of the Japan Open in Tokyo.
Carving out a 6-3, 7-6 victory over American Johnson, the Canadian dropped just one point from his first serve, shooting 11 aces after winning 37 of the 38 points he had on his first service. He also faced no break point chances throughout the match.
“It was definitely one of my best performances on serve,” Shapovalov said. “I felt like I had to do it against Steve. If I give him a lot of chances on the second serve, he’ll take advantage of it and put a lot of pressure on him. I’m really happy with my serve this time around and I hope to be able to maintain it all week.”
“The throw here is pretty fast, so if you put in a lot of first serves, I think the win percentage is really high here.”
The seventh seed managed to avoid the same fate as her opponent in the Korean Open final, Yoshihito Nishioka, who was eliminated from the first round of the Japan Open after struggling to find the right level energy and a short adaptation period. under the new conditions.
“I feel good,” added Shapovalov. “I’ve been through this many times, playing again after a final and having to adapt quickly.”
“Overall, I think the most important thing for me is to feel mentally refreshed. My body feels good. I feel positive mentally, very motivated. When you lose a final, it almost motivates you a bit more than winning, to play the following week.”
“This time I fought like crazy. I had to fight Steve and I will continue to do so for the rest of the week.”
A semi-finalist at the 2018 Japan Open, Shapovalov will next face host Rio Noguchi for a spot in the quarter-finals.
On the other court, third seed Taylor Fritz had to fight hard before beating Australian James Duckworth 6-2, 6-7, 6-1 and booked a second-round match against the host Hiroki Moriya.
Tags Articles: Tennis, Japan Open, Denis Shapovalov, Steve Johnson
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