Adelaide International 1 2023: Novak Djokovic vs Denis Shapovalov preview, head-to-head, prediction, odds and pick

Match Details

Fixture: (1) Novak Djokovic vs Denis Shapovalov

Date: January 6, 2023

Tournament: Adelaide International 1 2023

Round: Quarterfinals.

Venue: Memorial Drive Tennis Centre, Adelaide, Australia

Category: ATP 250

Surface: Outdoor Hardcourt

Prize money: $642,735

Live telecast: USA - Tennis Channel | UK - Tennis TV | Australia - 9Now

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Novak Djokovic vs Denis Shapovalov preview

Novak Djokovic in action at the Adelaide International

Top seed Novak Djokovic will face Denis Shapovalov in the quarter-finals of the Adelaide International 1 on Friday, January 6.

The Serb played a limited amount of tennis in 2022 but ended up having an impressive season, winning Wimbledon, the Italian Open and the ATP Finals, among other titles.

Djokovic began his 2023 season at the Adelaide International 1 and started by defeating France's Constant Lestienne 6-3, 6-2. He faced another Frenchman, Quentin Halys, in the second round and was broken early in the opening set. However, he fought back and won the set via a tiebreak.

The second set was tightly contested and Halys saved a match point to force another tiebreaker. Djokovic won it 7-5 to book his place in the quarter-finals.

Shapovalov produced some impressive performances during the 2022 season, reaching the quarter-finals of the Australian Open and the Italian Open where he beat Rafael Nadal in the process.

The Canadian reached two finals at the Korea Open and the Erste Bank Open in Vienna, losing to Yoshihito Nishioka and Daniil Medvedev, respectively. He helped Canada win the Davis Cup as they beat Australia in the final.

Shapovalov started the 2023 season at the Adelaide International 1 where he was seeded seventh. The 23-year-old came back from a set down to beat Rinky Hijikata 2-6, 6-4, 6-3 before defeating Roman Safiullin 6-4, 6-3 to book his place in the quarter-finals of the ATP 250 tournament.

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Novak Djokovic vs Denis Shapovalov head-to-head

Djokovic has won all of his prior meetings against Shapovalov and leads 7-0 in the head-to-head. The last meeting between the two came in the semi-finals of the 2021 Wimbledon Championships, with the Serb winning 7-6(3), 7-5, 7-5.

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Novak Djokovic vs Denis Shapovalov odds

Odds will be updated when available.

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Novak Djokovic vs Denis Shapovalov prediction

Djokovic will enter the match as the overwhelming favorite to win, considering his form and his head-to-head record against Shapovalov. That said, the Canadian should not be written off as he has often shown in the past few years that he can give the best of players a run for their money.

Djokovic's quality has just bettered over the years and his game will be hard for any player to cope up with. However, the Serb's biggest weapon has always been his mentality as he always remains very composed and it takes something completely extraordinary to make him lose his cool.

Shapovalov loves to play aggressively and will look to put Djokovic on the back foot early on, especially during his service games. The Canadian's one-handed backhand is among the best there is and he will look to make the most out of it. Shapovalov will have to lower his double-fault and unforced error counts as he cannot afford to accumulate too much of those against someone like Djokovic.

The Canadian is a fine player who is capable of making things difficult for the 21-time Grand Slam champion. However, it's really hard to see Djokovic losing against him given his current run of form.

Pick: Djokovic to win in straight sets.