Abu Dhabi (Etihad)
Canadian world number 14 Denis Shapovalov made a strong start on the first day of the Mubadala World Tennis Championships, defeating American Taylor Fritz in an exciting 55-minute match at the International Tennis Center in Zayed Sports City. The Canadian champion won 6-3 and 6 -0, thus qualifying for the match against Andrey Rublev tomorrow (Friday).
Shapovalov was able to understand the strategy of his American counterpart, and countered his transmissions in a thoughtful manner, then moved on to the strong transmissions, thanks to which he was able to collect several points. After his victory, Shapovalov said: “I am very happy to be able to win, Fritz is an experienced player, and it is great to be able to win for the first time since my participation in the Stockholm Championship in October. Thanks to the extensive training and plans we have put in place, which need some modifications to fully achieve their goals.
In the second match of the first day, Andy Murray defeated his British counterpart Dan Evans 6-3 6-2, after a strong match that brought back the enthusiasm of the tournament fans to be on the stands.
By defeating Evans, Murray secured a place in the second day of matches, where he faces Andrei Rublev.
Murray confirmed his readiness for his upcoming match with Nadal, noting that the friendly atmosphere of the tournament allows the players to focus on performance, especially since the tournament does not impose great psychological pressure on them, which gives the tournament fans a special experience.
Today, the fifth and sixth place winners will be determined between Fritz and Evans, in addition to completing the qualifiers between Shapovalov and Rublev, Murray and Nadal, with the winners qualifying for the final match, while the losers will compete for third place.
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