Two things that stood out in Carlos Alcaraz's 3R win over Denis Shapovalov at French Open
Top seed and World No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz dismantled 26th seed Denis Shapovalov 6-1, 6-4, 6-2 in the third round of the 2023 French Open on Friday, June 2, to book his place in the Round of 16. The match lasted a little more than two hours. The 20-year-old Spaniard will face Italy’s Lorenzo Musetti in the fourth round on Sunday, June 4.
Alcaraz was clinical in his performance against the 24-year-old Canaian, who struggled to hold his own against the Spaniard’s aggressive game.
Although Musetti won their only previous encounter in Hamburg last year, the 20-year-old will start as the favorite, given his form and dominance on clay this year.
Let us take a look at two things that stood out in Alcaraz's confident win against Shapovalov:
#1. Carlos Alcaraz put pressure on Denis Shapovalov’s backhand:
The left-handed Denis Shapovalov’s crosscourt forehand was typically directed at Carlos Alcaraz’s backhand, but the Spaniard dealt with it well. He effectively played down-the-line backhands to apply pressure on the Canadian’s backhand.
Shapovalov could not hit his backhand with enough power and often returned with a slice, which prompted Carlos to come to the net and dispatch the ball with a volley. The Spaniard raced to a 5-0 lead in the first set. The Canadian avoided a bagel, forcing Alcaraz to serve for the set, which he did with ease.
#2. Denis Shapovalov’s lack of variety hurt him:
The World No. 32 primarily played from the baseline and did not venture forward often. In comparison, Carlos Alcaraz demonstrated his all-court prowess by going into the net more frequently. Denis Shapovalov started going around his backhand more often from the second set onwards to hit inside-out forehands, in an effort to deal with Alcaraz’s down-the-line backhands.
It yielded results temporarily, as Shapovalov broke the Spaniard twice in the second set, but the World No. 1 broke back each time and then once more to take the set. Alcaraz then started putting pressure from the forecourt to race through the third set to complete a resounding win.
The Canadian was broken seven times in the match and could win only 51% and 50% of the points on his first and second serves, respectively. He also committed 10 double faults in total and couldn't break his opponent more than twice over the course of three sets.
While Alcaraz hit 25 winners and 24 unforced errors, Shapovalov finished with 17 winners and 39 unforced errors.