Korea Open 2022: Denis Shapovalov vs Jaume Munar preview, head-to-head, prediction, odds and pick
Match Details
Fixture: (4) Denis Shapovalov vs Jaume Munar.
Date: September 28, 2022.
Tournament: Korea Open 2022.
Round: Second round (Round of 16).
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 Jaume Munar preview
Following a first-round bye, fourth seed Denis Shapovalov will take on World No. 59 Jaume Munar in the second round of the 2022 Korea Open.
Shapovalov started the year on a strong note, but took a turn for the worse as the season progressed. He led Canada to an ATP Cup title and put up a fight against Rafael Nadal before losing to him in the Australian Open quarterfinals. Following a semifinal finish at the Dubai Championships, he failed to win back-to-back matches over the next few months.
Shapovalov then made it to the quarterfinals of the Italian Open and even defeated Nadal en route to the last eight. However, he proceeded to lose in the first round of his next five tournaments after that. The Canadian snapped his losing streak at Wimbledon, but only managed to progress to the second round there.
After another couple of opening-round exits, Shapovalov showed some signs of improvement by making it to the third round of the Western & Southern Open and the US Open. In the latter, he lost a closely contested five-set match against Andrey Rublev, going down in the final set tie-break.
Jaume Munar's best result this year consists of a couple of quarterfinal showings at the Melbourne Summer Set and the Swiss Open. Other notable performances include third-round appearances at the Indian Wells Masters and the Barcelona Open. At the Majors, he made it to the second round of the French Open and Wimbledon.
Munar fell in the opening round of the Moselle Open last week, losing to Arthur Rinderknech in three sets. He was up against qualifier Yosuke Watanuki in the first round of the Korea Open. The Spaniard led 2-1 in the opening set before his opponent retired due to injury.
Denis Shapovalov vs Jaume Munar head-to-head
This will be the first meeting between them, so the head-to-head stands at 0-0 for now.
Denis Shapovalov vs Jaume Munar odds
(All odds are sourced from BetMGM)
Denis Shapovalov vs Jaume Munar prediction
Shapovalov seems to be getting back on track after a tough few months. He has performed at a decent level in his last two tournaments and will be aiming to build upon those results. The 23-year-old might look to play a little cautiously to keep the errors at bay.
Shapovalov's attacking game could put Munar on the backfoot, but the Spaniard can turn the tables on him with his defensive abilities.
The Canadian has the edge when it comes to serving, but he's known to be inconsistent with that as well. Nevertheless, he ranks 12th on the ATP tour when it comes to service games won this year.
Shapovalov has been in slightly better form when compared to Munar over the past few weeks. As long as he plays a tactically sound game and doesn't resort to simply bashing the ball, he should be able to emerge victorious.
Pick: Denis Shapovalov to win in straight sets.