The task was great. Maybe a little too much. Denis Shapovalov gave his all, but gave up on 4e world champion, Daniil Medvedev, in three sets of 6-4, 3-6 and 2-6 in the final of the Vienna Open on Sunday morning.
The match had started well for the Canadian. He showed up on the Austrian pitch with an obvious strategy; arm yourself with patience and move the big Russian as much as possible.
Medvedev, who moves quickly despite being 6’6″ and has a keen sense of anticipation, has beaten Shapovalov at his own game a few times. But the Canadian’s strategy ended up paying off; he broke his opponent in the third game. It was the first time in the tournament that Medvedev suffered a break.
Both calm and galvanized by this success, Shapovalov did not slow down; he put on a second break to take a 4-1 lead in the first set over a Medvedev who seemed almost out of solutions.
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We said almost. The Russian quickly gave the Canadian back his own coin by breaking him in turn. Shapovalov remained focused and handled the pressure well thereafter to take the first set.
The tide turned in the second run. After all, Medvedev hasn’t been world No. 1 for 16 weeks this season for nothing. Shapovalov didn’t give up, notably playing well at net, but Medvedev had the upper hand to force an ultimate set.
It was during this that the chain landed for Shapovalov. Previously impassive, he began to show some frustration when things didn’t go his way. We saw him give a few racquet kicks in the air as a sign of discouragement, without giving up. Even at 5-1 he continued to press on, but Medvedev held on to win his second title of the season.
More details to come.
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