Dubai Tennis Championships 2022: Denis Shapovalov vs Jiri Vesely preview, head-to-head and prediction
Match Details
Fixture: (6) Denis Shapovalov vs (Q) Jiri Vesely
Tournament: Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships 2022.
Date: 25 February 2022.
Round: Semifinals
Venue: Dubai, UAE.
Category: ATP 500.
Surface: Outdoor Hardcourt.
Prize money: $2,794,840
Live telecast: USA - Tennis Channel | UK - Amazon Prime Video
Denis Shapovalov vs Jiri Vesely preview
Sixth seed Denis Shapovalov will face Jiri Vesely in the semifinals of the Dubai Tennis Championships on Friday.
The Canadian started the year brilliantly by helping his nation win the ATP Cup. The 22-year-old won three out of four singles matches in the tournament.
Shapovalov entered the Australian Open as the 14th seed and fought off Laslo Djere, Kwon Soon-woo and Reilly Opelka to reach the fourth round of the competition. He beat Alexander Zverev to advance to the quarterfinals, where the Canadian was beaten by eventual champion Rafael Nadal in five sets.
Shapovalov was seeded fifth at the Rotterdam Open, where he was eliminated in the first round by eventual semifinalist Jiri Lehecka.
The 22-year-old entered the Qatar Open as the top seed and reached the quarterfinals of the tournament following a comprehensive win over Alex Molcan. However, he lost to Arthur Rinderknech in the last eight.
Seeded No. 6 in Dubai, Shapovalov started with a hard-fought win over Marton Fucsovics before defeating Taro Daniel and Ricardas Berankis in straight sets to seal his place in the semifinals.
Denis beats Berankis and goes on to the semifinals! 🎾🔥
@denis_shapo
#DDFTennis #ATP @ATPTour https://t.co/Pkq34oZixi
Vesely, meanwhile, started the year with an opening-round exit at the Adelaide International. The Czech qualified for the main draw at the Sydney International but lost to Brandon Nakashima in the first round. He suffered another first-round exit at the Australian Open, at the hands of Stefan Kozlov.
The 28-year-old then reached the quarterfinals of the Maharashtra Open before losing to eventual runner-up Emil Ruusuvuori.
The Czech qualified for the main draw at the Dubai Tennis Championships after wins over Hady Habib and Alexei Popyrin. Vesely beat Marin Cilic in the first round to set up a second-round clash against Roberto Bautista Agut. He defeated the in-form Spaniard 6-2, 6-4 to seal his place in the last eight.
Vesely then scripted the upset of the tournament by defeating Novak Djokovic in straight sets and sealing his place in the semifinals. With the win, he also denied Djokovic the chance to hold onto his World No. 1 ranking.
Incredible win! @jiri_vesely 🎾🔥https://t.co/RhhJFtsu3M
Denis Shapovalov vs Jiri Vesely head-to-head
Friday's match will be the first meeting between Shapovalov and Vesely, so the head-to-head stands at 0-0. The winner will take on either Andrey Rublev or Hubert Hurkacz in the final of the Dubai Tennis Championships.
Denis Shapovalov vs Jiri Vesely prediction
Shapovalov is the favorite to win the match on paper, but following Vesely's win over Djokovic, it will be hard to write the Czech off.
Shapovalov will present a different kind of challenge. The Canadian has a huge serve and will use that to get on top of the rallies early on. However, he has served 14 double faults in his last three matches and will need to tighten up that aspect of his game.
Shapovalov's power from the baseline will also be tough for Vesely to handle.
The Czech, on his part, will rely heavily on his serve for points. His forehand is obviously a weapon but his ability to utilize his flat backhand to set up points will be crucial.
Vesely has had a good run in the tournament so far, but it could well come to an end against Shapovalov.
Prediction: Shapovalov to win in three sets.