Hard court specialists Denis Shapovalov and Grigor Dimitrov will face off in the quarterfinal of the 2020 Italian Open on Saturday, September 19. It is expected to start at around 5 pm local time (4 pm BST). Get the live streaming options of this Denis Shapovalov v Grigor Dimitrov match along with its preview, head to head, and tips here.
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Denis Shapovalov v Grigor Dimitrov Head to Head
There have been two previous matches between Shapovalov and Dimitrov with the latter winning both. The first came at the Toronto Masters in which Dimitrov triumphed 6-4, 6-3 while the latest one happened earlier this year when Dimitrov emerged a straight-set winner at the Rotterdam Open.
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Shapovalov Overturns Set Deficit
After a fairly straightforward couple of matches in the first two rounds of this competition, Shapovalov needed to come back from being a set down to overcome Frenchman Ugo Humbert in the third round. With this he has now sealed his best ever showing at the Rome Masters.
Shapovalov won 6-7, 6-1, 6-4 to march into the quarterfinal, having earlier brushed aside the pair of Guido Pella and Pedro Martinez in the first two rounds of the tournament.
The Canadian, whose only ATP title came in Stockholm last year, had entered this tournament on the back of a gritty but fine run at the US Open where he reached the quarterfinal. Shapovalov had his chances in that last-eight encounter against Pablo Carreno-Busta but he went down in gruelling, five-set match.
There were question-marks on whether he would be able to make a switch from hard court to clay with such a quick turnaround between the tournaments, but getting past players who have excelled on red dirt in the past would be a solid injection of confidence for Shapovalov.
Now, to whether he can make it to the semifinals at a Masters, something he has already experienced five times before this but just once on clay.
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Dimitrov Surpasses Sinner in Three
Much like Shapovalov, Dimitrov needed three sets to get past Italian talent Jannik Sinner and in a manner not too dissimilar as well. Down a set, Dimitrov overturned the deficit to clinch the next two sets to set up this quarterfinal with the Canadian.
The similarity doesn’t end there. Dimitrov had also come into his third round match on the back to back straight-set wins, much to the surprise of a few given his previously, slightly underwhelming clay court credentials.
The last time Dimitrov had made it as far as this in a Masters tournament on clay was in Monte-Carlo in 2018. And in 2015 in Madrid before this, making this win over Sinner something of a celebration in itself.
Needing two hours and 25 minutes, Dimitrov was a set and a break down before the comeback ensued. He broke back soon after and then repeated that dose at 5-4 on Sinner’s serve to level the match. A deflated Sinner was broken to love in the fourth game of the third set but Dimitrov lost his serve while serving for the match at 5-3.
Dimitrov’s experience shone through in the end though as he broke his opponent for the second time in the set to clinch the encounter and set up this quarterfinal meeting with Shapovalov.
Shapovalov v Dimitrov Prediction and Tip
This could go on to become an exciting encounter given both players have done their bit to get to the last eight but by no means prefer clay as their most favourite surface. Shapovalov’s confidence looks to give him the edge but there’s not much to choose between the two with bet365 offering 4/5 for his win and 1/1 for a Dimitrov victory.
Tip: Shapovalov to win: 4/5 (bet365)
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The Italian Open 2020 will be played from September 14 to September 20. You can watch & bet on the Italian Open here. Get your latest premium tennis predictions here.
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