World No. 1 Novak Djokovic will continue the bid for his seventh Australian Open title in Melbourne on Saturday as he meets the young Canadian Denis Shapovalov in the third round.
Watch & bet on Novak Djokovic v Denis Shapovalov live with bet365 here* on Saturday, January 19. The Djokovic v Shapovalov match timings will be announced soon.
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Djokovic v Shapovalov Head to Head
This will be the first time that the two players are meeting each other on the tour.
The Serbian Continues his Superb Run
Djokovic has started his campaign at the Melbourne Park on a stellar note with two, straight-set victories. He barely faced any problems in his opening match against Mitchell Krueger as he breezed comfortably in the second round.
There, he met the former French No. 1 Jo-Wilfried Tsonga who did prove to be a challenging task. However, at the end of the day, the top seed won the match 6-3, 7-5, 6-4, in a little over two hours.
The Serb started his campaign in the ATP Doha where he lost to the eventual champion Roberto Bautista Agut in the semifinal. As for his run in the previous season, he won the Wimbledon, US Open, Cincinnati Masters, and Shanghai Masters. He was also the runner-up at the Paris Masters and ATP World Tour Finals.
Owing to his splendid run in the second half of the season, he accumulated enough ranking points to ensure a No. 1 finish.
Is this Shapovalov’s Moment to Rise?
The 19-year-old Canadian rose to prominence in 2017 when he made his debut in the top 50. His form improved further in 2018 as he reached his career-best ranking of No. 27 in the world.
While he wasn’t the most consistent player on the tour, he did have a couple of impressive performances. For instance, he reached the semifinal in Tokyo after defeating Stan Wawrinka. Shapovalov was also a semifinalist at the Madrid Masters where he ultimately lost to Alexander Zverev.
His stint in Melbourne is only the second one of his career so far. Last year, she made it to the second round and this time around, he has already bested that result. He has won both of his matches so far in straight sets against the likes of Pablo Andujar and Taro Daniel.
The Canadian now faces a stiff test against the best player in the world. However, he can seek some inspiration from the fact that over the course of his time on the tour, he has defeated players like Rafael Nadal, Milos Raonic, Juan Martin del Potro, and others.
Djokovic v Shapovalov – Who Will Win?
Djokovic is no doubt going to start this fixture as the overwhelming favourite to win. The Canadian may pose some riddles to the Serbian but it should not be that big of a problem for Djokovic. At the same time, Djokovic must be wary of the threat that Shapovalov holds.
You can watch & bet on Novak Djokovic v Denis Shapovalov live with bet365 here on Saturday, January 19.
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