Shapovalov Against the Swedish Crowd

He surely did not hold back in his post-match interview...

It's quite a tough spot for Shapovalov. He is married to Mirjam Björklund, the Swedish WTA player. So he is connected to Sweden, but keeps going up against the Swedish players here. So he has the crowd against him (which bothers him), and he starts reacting and then gets even more fired up and angry. He was visibly upset in the interview, mocking the crowd and also mentioning that he would see how his back feels tomorrow. Yes, he did have a bit of a scare with his back when he was hitting a backhand late in the first set. He took an MTO, mentioned how it was hurting when he was breathing, and looked a bit subdued when play resumed. As the match went on, it became less and less of an issue, and he started to dominate the match, especially since Ymer was fading physically at that point due to all the running. To conclude, it was another win that was under control, but a lot of erratic play... once again going three sets as a huge favorite. For Ruud, his match went about as we expected due to the profiles of him and Korda. He was able to be more solid throughout the match, while Korda had more ups and downs. As usual, Korda was especially a bit shaky in the key moments, such as hitting a backhand pass at the bottom of the net and then another potential forehand winner a few meters long (both were quite makeable and on breakpoints). These slower courts give Ruud's more consistent playstyle a bit more margin against erratic opponents, since they are more likely to overextend trying to finish the points here.

And this match has sort of a similar profile with Shapovalov having the higher ceiling but also a lower floor. They did already face off this year, in the final in Dallas on the fast indoor hardcourts. That time, it was a somewhat dominant Shapovalov win in straight sets. I thought Shapovalov played at a great level that week, and I haven't really seen that from him yet. In his defense, it's been two weird matches as a big favorite against locals with nothing to lose. Although Shapovalov has done very well here in Stockholm in the past, I do think the conditions will favor Ruud here. It remains to be seen how he will react in this match if the crowd once again turns against him (which is quite likely, given his interview and the fact that Ruud is a Scandinavian). Then, his back injury could flare up again as well. I will mention that there is also the possibility that he gets fired up from all of this and just hits Ruud off the court; he has the weapons to do so...