1 Response to wb21shapovalov_khachanov

1. Voo de Mar says:

   July 7, 2021 at 11:44 pm

   Points won by each set: | 32-25, 25-31, 37-37, 28-14, 37-27 |
   Points won directly behind the serve:
   35 % Shapovalov – 47 of 131
   25 % Khachanov – 42 of 162

   Court no. 1 and a great opportunity for them both to reach the first semifinal at Slams on the second occasion: 25-year-old Khachanov [29] lost a French Open ’19 quarterfinal (as an underdog) while 22-year-old Shapovalov [12] lost a US Open ’20 quarterfinal (as a slight favorite). There were two vital moments in the opener, the first came when the Canadian trailed *2:3 (0/40) – he saved the first break point with a stunning forehand winner… another crucial moment came when the Russian led 40/15 at 4-all only to lose four consecutive points. In the following two sets the Russian improved his backhand, saved a double break point at 3:4 in the 3rd set, and led 2-1 in sets. He fought off a triple break point at 2-all in the decider, but was struggling a lot to get cheap points on serve from the beginning of the 4th set – perhaps he felt weariness due to an amazing 5-setter against Sebastian Korda a round before (10-8 in the 5th – 13 breaks of serve in those 18 games!). He had a point to lead 5:4, but lost his serve in a very tense 9th game. The Canadian served out the biggest win of his life so far, without hesitation. Quite interesting that prior to this match, Shapovalov had lost 9 straight matches when found himself at 4-all in the decider which is astonishing given his talent – even with his doubtful tactical selections and inclination to double faulting, he shouldn’t have lost so many tight matches (when both players are close to the finishing line) within the last two years.

   Serve & volley: Shapovalov 0, Khachanov 2/3

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