At Ahoy Enviornment in Rotterdam, earlier than the beginning of the match, the stadium goes darkish, lengthy skinny aqua lights cling from the rafters, pop music blares, pale inexperienced dots of sunshine waver via the viewers. Then the courtroom turns vivid. The present is starting.
We anticipated the star of the present to be artistic lefty 22-year-old Denis Shapovalov.
The younger Canadian seemed the half: wearing all-white, signature backwards ballcap, athletic, upbeat, fast-paced, that lovely free flowing one-handed backhand.
However 20-year-old qualifier Jiri Lehecka shocked us along with his calm and intense demeanor, his unbelievable two-handed backhand. The younger Czech rising star upset world No. 12 Shapovalov 6-4, 6-4 in a single hour and 31 minutes.
In his on-court interview, Lehecka was requested if he was shocked about his victory: “I imply, I wished to win, so…” Lehecka grinned. “Clearly, I’m not as shocked. Denis is an extremely good participant. I knew that earlier than the match. I knew that it will be a really powerful match. Wasn’t like I anticipated. So, I’m pleased. I’m actually pleased.”
Issues went mistaken for Shapovalov within the third recreation of the primary set. He missed a few forehands, which value him a break. Lehecka then held for a 3-1 lead, aggressively taking part in near the baseline, taking the ball on the rise. Shapovalov tried his greatest to catch up. Within the sixth recreation, he had 4 break factors, however misplaced them all.
Within the second set, Lehecka broke early once more, this time within the first recreation. Shapovalov did his greatest to remain constructive, hopping round, saying “Come on!” and when he broke within the subsequent recreation, he yelled out a guttural roar.
At 2-all, although, Shapovalov was damaged. He simply made too many errors. He did annihilate an inside-out forehand down the road for a winner, however he additionally double faulted, missed a backhand broad, and missed a forehand lengthy.
Shapovalov had 5 break factors within the sixth recreation, however wasn’t capable of convert. Lehecka stayed regular, and at 5-4, he served for the match, profitable at love.
In his press convention afterward, Shapovalov stated: “He performed rather well in the present day. I wasn’t capable of finding my type.
“Powerful situations over right here with me. I haven’t had an excessive amount of success on these courts. Little bit troublesome. I used to be mistiming quite a bit on my pictures.”
When requested about taking part in a brand new man to the tour, Shapovalov replied: “It’s all the time troublesome to play up-and-coming guys. They’re taking part in loosely, clearly. For them, they’ve the whole lot to acquire.
“I believe he’s going to be an incredible participant. He confirmed in the present day how a lot potential he has.”
Shapovalov stated: “I’ve struggled right here the final instances I’ve performed. Undecided this can be a nice floor for me. I didn’t really feel snug, felt like I used to be type of guessing each shot.
“Typically you may really feel good on a floor. Typically you may wrestle just a little bit extra. It’s simply a type of weeks for me.”
