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Denis Shapovalov vs Brandon Nakashima: ATP Montreal – First round
The American Brandon Nakashima will take on Denis Shapovalov in the opening round of ATP Montreal.
Denis Shapovalov Profile
Former world No. 10 Denis Shapovalov is currently 106th in the ATP rankings. The Canadian is 17-19 for the season and 6-7 on hard surface.
He is coming to Montreal after being disqualified in the quarterfinal at the ATP Washington. Shapovalov was facing three match points against Ben Shelton when he got into conversation with a fan which went too far. That was the furthest Shapovalov has come in any tournament this season.
His best result in Montreal was the semifinal in 2017 when he lost to Alexander Zverev.
Brandon Nakashima Profile
Brandon Nakashima is currently 54th in the ATP rankings and his career high was No. 43. The American is 47-22 for the season and 14-6 on hard surface.
Nakashima is coming off a 6-4, 7-6 win over Billy Harris in the second qualifying round after beating Nicolas Arseneault in the first. Last week, he lost to Ben Shelton in the round of 16 in Washington in two tiebreaks.
Nakashima’s best results this season were winning the title at the Tenerife Challenger and reaching the final in Koblenz.
This is his second appearance in Montreal after losing in the opening round in 2022.
Head-to-Head Tied 1-1
- Shapovalov vs Nakashima 6-4, 7-5, 4-6, 3-6, 6-3 (2023 French Open, first round)
- Nakashima vs Shapovalov 6-2, 4-6, 6-1, 7-6 (2022 Wimbledon, second round)
Prediction and Conclusion
Both players are still young and have high hopes for the US Tour. Shapovalov had great performance in DC, but his exit from the tournament was scandalous. He will have a chance to bounce back against Nakashima, who went through the qualifiers to find himself in the main draw. Both of the previous matches between these two players were real fights, and we expect nothing less today. This is a huge opportunity for both of them, and the match can go either way. However, it will be a long match that will go over 22.5 games in total.
