Denis Shapovalov of Toronto, Ontario is in the quarterfinals of the 2019 Rolex Paris Masters indoor tennis competition from France. On Thursday in third round action, Shapovalov defeated sixth ranked Alexander Zverev of Germany 6-2, 5-7, 6-2 in two hours and nine minutes.
Shapovalov was in complete control in the first and third sets. He did get broken in the 12th game of the second set, which forced Zverev to even the match at a set apiece, but bounced back with an early break in the third set.
A major reason why Shapovalov is in the final eight was because of his ability to save break points. In the match, Shapovalov saved 11 of 13 Zverev break point opportunities for a remarkable 85% success rate.
Now Shapovalov plays the 13th seed, Gael Monfils of France in the quarterfinals on Friday. Shapovalov lost to Monfils in five sets in the third round of the 2019 United States Open in Flushing Meadows, New York in their only other previous encounter. Monfils won 6-7, 7-6, 6-4, 6-7, 6-3.
Shapovalov and Monfils are two of six players still left in the tournament. On Saturday, Novak Djokovic of Serbia will face Grigor Dimitrov of Bulgaria in one of two semifinals. The other quarterfinal match still to be played on Friday has France’s Jo-Wilfried Tsonga up against Rafael Nadal of Spain.
