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Match Details
Fixture: (4) Denis Shapovalov vs Radu Albot.
Date: September 30, 2022.
Tournament: Korea Open 2022.
Round: Quarterfinal.
Venue: Seoul, South Korea.
Category: ATP 250.
Surface: Hard.
Prize money: $1,237,570.
Live telecast: USA - Tennis Channel | Canada - TSN | Australia - beIN Sports.
Denis Shapovalov vs Radu Albot preview
Fourth seed Denis Shapovalov will take on Radu Albot in the quarterfinals of the 2022 Korea Open on Friday.
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After a first-round bye, Shapovalov was up against Jaume Munar in the second round. The Canadian bagged a break of serve in the seventh game to lead 4-3, but was immediately broken in the next game. Nevertheless, he managed to come out on top by winning the last three games of the set to clinch the opener.
Shapovalov jumped to a 3-1 lead in the second set, but Munar won the next couple of games to get back on serve at 3-3. The Canadian secured another break of serve in the following game to surge ahead. With Munar serving to stay in the match at 5-3 later on, he saved a couple of match points for a hold of serve.
However, the Spaniard only delayed the inevitable. Shapovalov closed out the proceedings in the following game to win the match 7-5, 6-4. He has now reached the quarterfinals of a tournament for the first time since the Italian Open in May.
Radu Albot defeated Hiroki Moruya in the first round to set up a second-round clash with Steve Johnson. The Moldovan trailed 5-2 in the opening set, but went on a four-game run that put him in the lead at 6-5. However, he failed to close out the set as he dropped serve, leading to a tie-break.
Albot led 4-0 in the tie-break before losing the next three points. He then won the next three points to claim the set. He fell behind in the second set as well and even saved a set point. The 32-year old managed to take the set into yet another tiebreak.
Albot was on the backfoot at the start of the tiebreak as he trailed 3-0. However, he won the next seven points to win the match 7-6 (3), 7-6 (3), reaching his second quarterfinal of the year.
Denis Shapovalov vs Radu Albot head-to-head
Albot leads Shapovalov 1-0 in the head-to-head. He won their previous encounter at the 2020 Sofia Open in straight sets.
Denis Shapovalov vs Radu Albot odds
All odds are sourced from BetMGM.
Denis Shapovalov vs Radu Albot prediction
Shapovalov played a pretty decent match to get past Munar in the second round. He didn't make too many wild errors and remained in control of the match for the most part. His serving stats were decent too, though he's done better in that regard in the past.
Albot was under frequent pressure in his second-round contest against Johnson, but remained calm to come out on top. He managed to neutralize the American's serve quite effectively, something he'll need to do once more against a server like Shapovalov.
The Canadian is likely to dictate the proceedings of this contest. Albot does have it in him to goad his opponent into committing more errors with his refusal to back down in rallies and commendable retrieval skills. But Shapovalov performed at a higher level in the previous round, and as such will be the favorite to emerge victorious in the quarterfinals as well.
Pick: Denis Shapovalov to win in straight sets.
