Shapovalov sentences Kovalik at the ATP Barcelona

The Canadian tennis player gets his first important victory in his career in Barcelona. Shapovalov manages to maintain a great rhythm throughout the match, thus defeating Jozef Kovalik in two sets (6-4, 6-3) after 1h22min of good tennis.

tournament bracket

tournament results

Denis Shapovalov faced the first of the matches corresponding to a new edition of an ATP tournament in the city of Barcelona in this month of April 2023. He did it after debuting in the men’s final tablewhere he would have to face the Slovakian tennis player in the first round Jozef Kovalik. The Canadian player came to this confrontation after having lost in the third round of the Miami Open against the American tennis player Taylor Fritz. For his part, the tennis player from Slovakia came to this match after having far surpassed the previous phase and his debut in the Catalan tournament. Inside of the head to head there are no precedents between the two tennis playersso it will be the first time that they will face each other in official competition.

Denis Shapovalov starts the match firmly

The match started strong for Denis Shapovalov. The Canadian player got the first game of the match. At the moment Jozef Kovalik would respond, following one another a series of successes in each service. Equality was at its peak, being the failure at key moments what would determine the clear advantage on the scoreboard. That would be what Denis would take advantage of, since he would manage to chain up to two consecutive games to dominate the result of the first round. With 6-4 a favorand after a break and a set point in his locker, the player from Canada placed the first in the luminous Barcelona.

The Canadian racket confirms its victory

At the start of the second set it would be Diego Shapovalov again who would start commanding the initial score. At the moment Jozef Kovalik would respond, although it would be of no use. Shapo’s right was gaining confidence, and proof of this were the three consecutive games that he added to his locker. With a break included, he was 4-1 leading the score. After this another good exchange of points would happen, but everything would have a predestined end. With match point in favor, and with hardly any surprisesDenis Shapovalov found no opposition to place the 6-3 with game in white. This confirmed his pass to the next round of the Catalonia tournament.