Rafael Nadal showed he is hungry for more when he demolished Croatia's Borna Coric 6-1, 6-1 on Wednesday, August 10, in the second round of Rogers Cup in Montreal, Canada.
The Spaniard, who is the top seed at the tournament, was in complete control and raced to a 5-0 lead in the first set before Coric held a serve. It seems Nadal is comfortably on his way to dethrone Andy Murray from the top spot of ATP rankings. Notably, he needs to reach the semi-final in Montreal to do so.
However, Nadal will face teenage sensation and local favourite Denis Shapovalov in the third round on Thursday, August 10. The Canadian, who was handed a wildcard for the tournament, has produced some impressive results to make the third round and set up his first meeting against a top-10 player.
Shapovalov, ranked 143, opened his campaign against higher-ranked Brazilian Dutra Silva and it was not going the Canadian's way as he lost the first set. However, the 18-year-old fought back and showed he is ready for tough tests when he saved five break points at 5-5 in the second set before winning the match 4-6, 7-6(8), 6-4.
In the second round, Shapovalov faced one of the biggest tests of his career against former US Open champions Juan Martin del Potro. He aced it by downing the Argentine star 6-4, 7-6(4), a win that gave him a lot of confidence ahead of Thursday's dream meeting with Nadal.
Shapovalov revealed he grew up watching Nadal. The former junior Wimbledon champion seems to be excited at the prospect of playing the Spanish great in front of his home crowd.
"Every time I look at him [Nadal], I think what a ridiculous athlete and what a ridiculous player he is. It's going to be very interesting for me to go up against him, just to see how my game style matches him. I'm going to try to make the most of it," Shapovalov said, as quoted by CBC Sports.
The Canadian teen is known as an aggressive baseliner and has a good service to trouble top players. However, Nadal, who has one of the best defences in the sport, is unlikely to be troubled. On the contrary, it will be interesting to see if Shapovalov can match the pace and court movement-abilities of his higher-ranked opponent.
When is the match and how to watch it live
Rafael Nadal vs Denis Shapovalov is the fourth match on Court Central on Thursday. The tie is expected to begin not before 6:30 pm local time, 4 am IST.
India: TV: TEN 2. Live streaming: Sony LIV
USA: Tennis Channel. Live streaming: Tennis Channel
Australia: TV: ESPN. Live streaming: Watch ESPN
UK: TV: Sky Sports. Live streaming: Sky Go
Spain: TV: Sogecable
Malaysia: TV: Astro Supersport. Live streaming: Astro Go
