While he awaits the qualifying section of Wimbledon to wrap up, his main spot in the main draw already secured, Denis Shapovalov is doing his best to transition onto grass, the seasons and surfaces changing in tennis. On Wednesday, Shapovalov took a good first step in preparing for competition at The All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club.
Shapovalov won his Round of 16 match at the Eastbourn International on Wednesday, defeating American Jared Donaldson in three sets (6-4, 4-6, 6-2). It was Shapovalov's first win on grass, after losing in the first rounds of both the Stuttgart Open and Queen's Club Championship.
Game ✅, set ✅ and match ✅, @denis_shapo!
— Tennis Canada (@TennisCanada) June 27, 2018
Denis Shapovalov earns his first win on grass this season and reaches the quarterfinals of the #NatureValleyInternational with a 6-4, 4-6, 6-2 win over Donaldson.
Can he go all the way this week in Eastbourne?? pic.twitter.com/VxgMyG0lIc
Shapovalov looked sharp early, opening the match with a hold before pushing Donaldson to deuce and nearly coming up with an early break. That pattern repeated on 1-1, when Shapovalov produced an easy hold on the strength of two aces, while Donaldson needed a triple-deuce before finally getting a hold of his own to remain level in the first set.
And while Donaldson bent but did not break on serve for most of that set, Shapovalov's moment finally came with him already up 5-4, when Shapovalov not only broke but held Donaldson on love to take a 1-0 lead.
The second set got off the a similar start, but Donaldson was able to produce his first break of the match with the set squared at 3-3 to take a 4-3 lead, and consolidated to grab a tow-game edge, thought that game itself took 10 minutes and staving off a pair of break points. While Shapovalov inched closer at 5-4, Donaldson saved a triple break point to hold off the Canadian teenager, taking the set 6-4 to force a decisive third.
Shapovalov got off to a stressful start to that set, needing to save a break point to take an early 1-0 lead. The players went back and forth on serve until Shapovalov produced a crucial break to take a 4-2 lead. He consolidated in short order, and then finished out the match with another break to finally put away Donaldson.
It was a cleaner day for Shapovalov, who hit 11 aces and had zero unforced errors. Shapovalov moves on to the quarterfinals where he'll face German Mischa Zverev, ranked 67th in the ATP, 41 spots behind Shapovalov (26th).
When Shapovalov does take the court at Wimbledon, it will be his first exposure to the tournament. The 19-year-old will enter the major tied for the 12th-best betting odds to win the tournament. He's seeded 28th in the field, with countryman Milos Raonic coming in at 13th.