Ahead of Carlos Alcaraz showdown, Denis Shapovalov's fiance Mirjam shares what their pet dog thinks of Indian Wells

Denis Shapovalov's fiance, Mirjam Bjorklund, shared an adorable selfie with their pet dog, Yatzi, ahead of the Canadian’s big match against Carlos Alcaraz at the Indian Wells Masters. Shapovalov, seeded 27, takes on second-seeded Alcaraz in the third round of the ATP 1000 tournament on Tuesday, March 11.

Shapovalov comes into the BNP Paribas Open in stirring form. He got past the likes of top players such as Taylor Fritz, Tommy Paul and Casper Ruud to clinch the Dallas Open in February. He was not even seeded at the tournament and caused numerous upsets by beating three players in the top 10 to claim his career’s biggest title.

Shapovalov followed that up by reaching the semifinals of the Mexican Open and has carried the momentum into the Indian Wells Masters. He had a smooth second round fixture as he breezed to a 6-3, 6-2 win over Australia’s Adam Walton to set up a mouth-watering clash against Alcaraz.

Denis Shapovalov‘s fiance Bjorklund, whose campaign at the tournament ended in the second round of qualifying, took to Instagram to share an adorable selfie with their pet dog Yatzi. She captioned the story.

“Coach Yatzi approves of Indian Wells 🥰🌴🌵”

Screengrab of Denis Shapovalov's fiance Mirjam Bjorklund's Instagram story. Source: Instagram @mirjambjorklund

Bjorklund, a tennis player with Swedish origins, has been in a relationship with Shapovalov since 2019. The couple got engaged in 2023 and is planning to get married soon.

Denis Shapovalov vs Carlos Alcaraz promises to be a thrilling contest

Denis Shapovalov faces World No. 2 Carlos Alcaraz in the third round of the BNP Paribas Open. Source: Getty

Denis Shapovalov will face a Herculean task when he takes on World No. 2 Carlos Alcaraz in the third round of the Indian Wells Masters. Alcaraz has enjoyed a good start to the season, reaching the quarterfinals of the Australian Open and Qatar Open while also winning the Rotterdam Open title in early February.

The pressure will be on the Canadian, as Alcaraz, the defending champion, is the outlying favorite to win this contest. The two have faced each other on just one occasion in the 2023 French Open, and Alcaraz won the contest 6-1, 6-4, 6-2 in the third round.

Though the odds seem stacked against Shapovalov, the big-serving Canadian has been in great form in 2025 and has accounted for multiple top-10 players this season.