Australian Open: Rublev and Shapovalov pass first endurance tests

Completely different task, the same result: The youngsters Denis Shapovalov and Andrey Rublev are in round two at the Australian Open 2018.

Stefanos Tsitsipas may have started the year 2018 better than Denis Shapovalov, but on Grand Slam level the Canadian showed in the #NextGen duel on Court 2 clearly what experience in Majors is worth: Shapovalov had a lightning start, had to shake a little bit in the third set, secured himself after 1:54 hours but finally with a 6:1,6:3 and 7:6 (5:6). No new feeling for the left-hander: Shapovalov had already taken the first hurdle in the main draw at the US Open – and then two more.

Tsitsipas, on the other hand, had begun the season in Doha with a successful qualifying campaign for the main draw, followed by victories over Florian Mayer and Richard Gasquet before losing to Dominic Thiem in the quarter-finals.

In the duel between two players with a one-handed backhand, the Greek saw himself mostly on the defensive. Shapovalov took command of most rallies, but did not follow his balls as consistently as last year. In the third set, Canada’s 2017 athlete was leading early with a break, but in the end he could not be disturbed by a small comeback of Tsitsipas.

Andrey Rublev had to endure a test of patience of a different kind: The Russian, first-time seeded in a Grand Slam tournament, was drawn by an opponent David Ferrer, who can fall back on a great experience at major events. The affair lasted almost four hours on Court 14, Ferrer showed his best side in the tie-breaks of the second and fourth sets. Rublev, however, has stabilised over the last few months, showing much more patience on the court than a year ago. In the end, the Russian was ahead by 7:5,6:7 (6), 6:2,6:7 (6) and 6:2.

Andrey Rublev had made it to the finals in Doha at the beginning of the season, but there he was without a chance against Gael Monfil. Last week Rublev stepped in for Dominic Thiem at the Kooyong Classics. Now Marcos Baghdatis could be another experienced player waiting for the Russians – provided that the Cypriot wins his game against Yuki Bhambri from India.

For Denis Shapovalov, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga could be a Deja-Vu as Grand Slam opponent. Already in New York City, the two were facing each other. At that time, the much younger Canadian had won the Arthur Ashe Stadium.

Here the single tableau of the Australian Open