The Consistent Canadian!?

Denis is starting to turn into "Mr. Reliable", isn't he?

Well, that's a bit of an exaggeration, but it's definitely improving ;) Ever since he got back to hardcourt in North America, he's been playing really well. It all started with a great, dominant run in Los Cabos until he got injured in the final... We saw him play a really good Cincinnati, until he choked with a big lead against Jodar. I really liked his two wins at the US Open against Kecmanovic and Van Assche- dominant! It was a tough opening round against Griekspoor in these conditions, and it was a big serve-dominated battle, but he was the better one in the key moments. Now, he gets to face a completely different player in a matchup that should be a bit easier for him in these conditions. Actually, one could say it will be a bit like his match against LVA at the US Open... facing a mobile baseliner with a great backhand. In that match, Shapovalov was outstanding; he played with a great margin while still overpowering LVA.

Kopriva's season started very strong, but he's been struggling for some months now... It's hard to maintain that strong of a level throughout an entire season. He was a massive favorite in his opening round against a young Chinese player who was ranked 2000+ in the world. Still, he had to battle quite a bit against an impressive opponent. Now, this is a tough matchup for him... facing a powerful player in very fast conditions. Kopriva has played some good matches on grass and altitude clay, so he can definitely adapt to the conditions, but it's an uphill battle here, no doubt. It's really hard to defend here, since it's too easy for your opponent to hit winners if you are too passive. Can he be aggressive enough to disrupt and trouble Shapovalov, despite a huge serving disadvantage?