Matching Report
Shapovalov took down Borges in Belgrade with a historic win
Cerundolo sees in Safiullin; Djere, Marozsan advances to a strong indoor ATP 250 field
November 06, 2024
SerbiaOpen
Denis Shapovalov enters his 40th level quarter-final.
Written by Jerome Coombe
Denis Shapovalov ends his comeback season in style with a stunning run at the Belgrade Open.
The 25-year-old produced an impressive performance on Wednesday to defeat fifth-seeded Nuno Borges 6-2, 6-4 and advance to the quarter-finals at the level of 40. Shapovalov, who won the qualifier, was clinical throughout the match, where he won 91 percent (31/34) of the points after his first delivery, according to Infosys ATP Stats.
“It was a fast match today, I started well out of the gates,” said Shapovalov, who broke Borges in the opening game. “I kept the momentum. I’ve been playing well all week, so I’m very happy to win again.
“It’s one of the best wins of the season for me, so I’ll enjoy it a bit and start thinking about the quarter-finals.”
SUPER DENIS 🌟@denis_shapo he is in his 4⃣0⃣th QF 🫡#Belgrade Open pic.twitter.com/sgXP1d9Rl7
– ATP Tour (@atptour) November 6, 2024
Shapovalov’s 2023 season was cut short by a knee injury, but the Canadian returned to action this year. With his 64-minute win, the former No. 10 in the PIF ATP Rankings is into the quarterfinals of his third tour of 2024 (Washington, Basel).
Shapovalov will next face Christopher O’Connell in the last four after the Australian shot past Daniel Altmaier 6-3, 6-1.
Earlier, Francisco Cerundolo got revenge by knocking out Roman Safiullin and leveled the Lexus ATP Head2Head doubles series at 1-1. The third seed, who fell to Safiullin in the first round of Wimbledon in July, scored a 6-4, 6-4 win.
“I knew it was going to be a tough game, but I think I played really well,” said Cerundolo, who improved to 34-30 on the season. “I am very happy because he is a tough player. If you don’t perform well, his return will come quickly and be difficult.”
Cerundolo hit six aces and saved each of the two break points he faced en route to a one-hour, 31-minute victory. In the 22nd tour-level quarterfinal, Cerundolo will face Hamad Medjedovic of Serbia.
Elsewhere, Laslo Djere was forced to go deep to win next on the ATP Tour for the first time since October last year. The Serbian card saved two points in the second set, but managed to defeat loser Duje Ajdukovic 6-1, 7-6 (8) to secure his place in the last eight.
“In the first set, I played my best tennis of the year,” said Djere. “The second one was a battle. I really wanted to win and I’m glad I went through with it.”
The 29-year-old will face Fabian Marozsan, who beat home hopeful Dusan Lajovic 6-3, 7-5 to reach his fifth straight quarterfinal.
