Novak Djokovic ‘shocked’ Denis Shapovalov during Australian Open win - pundit
NOVAK DJOKOVIC’s fourth set dominance would have shocked Denis Shapovalov at the Australian Open.
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“He’s so good at sucking up difficult situations, taking it on the chin and then finding another gear and another level,” Eurosport pundit Croft said.
“And I think wiping that slate clean as soon as he lost that third set, just got down to business straight away again and probably shocked Shapovalov actually and that’s often the very big difference between the very very top players and the players that are rising up.
“I think Shapovalov would learn from that kind of situation because you just can’t go away like he did so quickly in the fourth set.
“And actually early on in [Andy] Murray’s career, he was always such a great fighter but there were one or two matches early on where you felt that was the case but my goodness he learned quickly and never did that again.”
Shapovalov himself admitted that the third set comeback had drained his energy.
“He’s good,” the 19-year-old said. “I think he’s No 1 good!
“Yeah, honestly he’s really solid. But I had my chances definitely.
“Especially after the third set, I felt a little bit physically dead.
“He started the fourth really well. After that it was a little bit tough.
“The balls rolled, he was really taking advantage. He played a really good fourth set.
“I felt like I was definitely really dominant in the third set. It was good tennis.
“It was fun. Like I said, in the fourth, he played a good set. It was a little bit too late for me to catch up.”