The Demon dominates Shapo to win first UTS New York quarter-final

Alex “The Demon” de Minaur has defeated Denis “Shapo” Shapovalov 17-16, 19-13, 19-13, in the first quarter-final of UTS New York at Forrest Hills Stadium on Thursday in New York.

He will now move through to UTS New York semi-finals tomorrow, where he will play the winner of one of Thursday’s other quarter-finals.

“It’s a lot of mental energy, you’ve got to be focused every point,” shared the Demon after his win at UTS New York.

Nervous start but The Demon finds his groove

The first quarter was a back-and-forth affair, with both players trying to adjust to the unique UTS format.

“We were both so tight. There’s a lot going on. No time to think, no time to relax,” shared Shapo between quarters.

The Demon got off to a fast start racing out to a quick 3-0 lead, but it was Shapovalov who dominated the mid-section of the quarter. A correct play of his card on De Minaur’s serve led to the Canadian grabbing a 15-9 lead at one stage.

However, the Aussie played his card right back and clawed his way into the quarter, levelling it at 16-all heading into quarter-point. De Minaur was the braver of the two in the next-point-wins scenario, going after his shots and claiming the quarter 17-16.

“A lot of nerves, some tight points,” The Demon shared after the first quarter. “I’m always nervous, I want to put a show in front of you guys!”

The nerves didn’t show, however, as De Minaur went on to grab an early lead in the second quarter, defusing Shapo’s bonus card midway through the quarter too. 

The Canadian had a big mountain to climb with quarter-point coming at 18-11 down. He managed to claw back two, but was unable to finish the job, falling behind two quarters to none.

“There’s been a lot of music and stuff going on,” Shapo confessed during the match, explaining his slow start. “Just trying to get used to this format.”

In the third quarter, The Demon showed why he’s cracked the top 10 on the ATP Tour this year, pulling ahead 10-2 at one stage. Shapo did well to bring it back to 12-8, but with quarter-point at 18-11, the writing was on the wall.

Again, Shapo fought hard in the sudden death situation, but fell short at 19-13 in the third to lose three quarters to love. He will play a consolation match tomorrow against one of the other quarter-final losers.

Next up, Nick Kyrgios plays his first singles match in over a year against UTS Oslo semi-finalist Casper “The Iceman” Ruud.

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