Denis Shapovalov of Toronto, Ontario, and Felix Auger-Aliassime of Montreal, Quebec are each in the fourth round of the 2022 Australian Open. On Thursday, Shapovalov, the 14th seed, beat Reilly Opelka of the United States, the 23rd seed, 7-6, 4-6, 6-3, 6-4. Then on Friday, Auger-Aliassime, the ninth seed, beat Daniel Evans of Great Britain, the 24th seed, 6-4, 6-1, 6-1.
The major statistic in the Shapovalov match against Opelka was unforced errors. Shapovalov only had 33, while Opelka had 46. Opelka is known for his powerful serve, as he had a first serve average of 202 kilometres per hour. However, Shapovalov got several quality looks on Opelka’s serve and was able to break the 6’11” American three times.
Auger-Aliassime meanwhile played a much better third round match against Evans than his second round match against Alejandro Davidovich Fokina of Spain. In round two, Auger-Aliassime had 83 unforced errors. In round three, Auger-Aliassime had only 21 unforced errors. Auger-Aliassime also had 16 aces compared to only one for Evans.
In the fourth round, Shapovalov will face the third seed, Alexander Zverev of Germany, the reigning Olympic gold medalist and 2020 U.S. Open finalist. Head-to-head, Shapovalov has beaten Zverev twice, as he is 2-4 against the German all-time. Shapovalov’s first win came in the third round of the 2019 Paris Masters, 6-2, 5-7, 6-2. Shapovalov’s second win came in the 2020 ATP Cup in Brisbane, 6-2, 6-2.
In the fourth round, Auger-Aliassime will face the 27th seed, Marin Cilic of Croatia. Head-to-head, Auger-Aliassime is 0-3 against Cilic, as the 2014 U.S. Open champion came away with wins against Auger-Aliassime in Washington in 2019, Paris in 2020, and Stuttgart in 2021.
