Japan Open 2022: Denis Shapovalov vs Borna Coric preview, head-to-head, prediction, odds and pick
Match Details
Fixture: (7) Denis Shapovalov vs (9) Borna Coric.
Date: October 7, 2022.
Tournament: Japan Open 2022.
Round: Quarterfinal.
Venue: Tokyo, Japan.
Category: ATP 500.
Surface: Hard.
Prize money: $1,953,285.
Live telecast: USA - Tennis Channel | Canada - TSN | Australia - beIN Sports.
Denis Shapovalov vs Borna Coric preview
World No. 22 Denis Shapovalov will square off against Borna Coric in the quarterfinals of the 2022 Japan Open on Friday.
Shapovalov scored a 6-3, 7-6 (3) win over Steve Johnson in the first round to set up a second-round date with qualifier Rio Noguchi. The two went neck and neck in the first half of the opening set. The Canadian then pulled ahead by winning four games in a row to take the set.
Shapovalov carried this momentum into the second set as well as he raced to a 5-0 lead in no time. Noguchi put a halt to his hot streak with a hold of serve to make it 5-1. The 23-year-old then easily closed out the contest to win the match 6-3, 6-1.
Shapovalov has now made it to the quarterfinals of a tournament for the sixth time this season.
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Boric Coric defeated 2022 Australian Open doubles champion Thanasi Kokkinakis 6-4, 7-6 (4) in the first round. He was up against Brandon Nakashima in the second round.
The two were evenly matched for most of the first set. Coric bagged the decisive break in the 11th game, following which he served out the set to grab the opener. He then raised his level even more from this point on.
Coric secured an early break of serve to go 2-0 up in the second set. Nakashima was unable to make any headway in this set and fell even further behind. The Croat further solidified his position by breaking his opponent's serve yet again to lead 5-1.
The match ended pretty soon after this as Coric won the encounter 7-5, 6-2 to reach his third quarterfinal of the year.
Denis Shapovalov vs Borna Coric head-to-head
Coric leads Shapovalov 2-0 in the head-to-head. He won their previous meeting at the 2018 Miami Open in three sets.
Denis Shapovalov vs Borna Coric odds
All odds are sourced from BetMGM.
Denis Shapovalov vs Borna Coric prediction
Coric's serving numbers in the second round against Nakashima were quite impressive. He hit 10 aces while winning a massive 91% of his first serve points. Shapovalov did pretty decent too, but his stats were overshadowed by the Croat. Neither player let their opponents have a look at a break point on their serve in the previous round as well.
Coric's second-round performance was reminiscent of the form that won him his first Masters 1000 title in Cincinnati a couple of months ago. Shapovalov has been playing quite well too, finishing as the runner-up at the Korea Open last week.
While Shapovalov is partial towards a more aggressive strategy, Coric's game is more well-rounded as he's equally comfortable playing defense as well as offense. The Canadian at his best dictates the play with his fine shotmaking, but otherwise tends to accumulate errors if he's having a bad day.
Both have played at a good level in Tokyo so far and this upcoming contest seems well balanced. However, Coric, with his more consistent style of play, should be able to absorb Shapovalov's firepower to emerge victorious, though the Canadian can't be ruled out completely.
Pick: Borna Coric to win in three sets.