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Denis Shapovalov vs Roberto Bautista Agut: ATP Washington – First round
Veteran Roberto Bautista Agut will take on Denis Shapovalov in the opening round of the ATP Washington.
Denis Shapovalov Profile
Former world No. 10 Denis Shapovalov is currently ranked 140th in the ATP rankings. The Canadian is 14–18 for the season and 3-6 on hard surface.
Shapovalov is coming off a 6-4, 3-6, 6-1 loss in the first round in Atlanta. Previously, he lost in the third round at Wimbledon to Ben Shelton in five sets.
That was his fourth time this season to reach the third round of a tournament, after he did the same at the French Open in Madrid and Miami.
This is his fourth appearance in Washington, and his best result is the round of 16 in 2018.
Roberto Bautista Agut Profile
Roberto Bautista Agut is currently 74th in the rankings and his career high was No. 9 in the world. The 36-year-old is 24-19 for the season and 6-6 on hard surface.
Bautista Agut is coming off a straight-sets loss to Tommy Paul in the round of 16 at Wimbledon.
His best results of the season besides that were the quarterfinals in Mallorca, Bordeaux, and Hong Kong.
This will be his first appearance in Washington.
Head-to-Head Shapovalov leads 1-0
- Shapovalov vs Bautista Agut 6-1, 6-3, 7-5 (2021 Wimbledon, round of 16)
Prediction and Conclusion
This will be a match between former top-10 players who will most likely never get even close to that rankings. The reason for that is Bautista Agut’s age and Shapovalov’s downfall in form. The Canadian is still only 25 years old, but it’s been a while since he has played his best tennis, and currently he is only a shadow of what he was predicted to be. Both players are not on the Olympic teams of their respective countries and will start their US Open tour in Washington. They haven’t played on hard surfaces since the first couple of months of the season, and adaptation will play a major role in this match. Neither player seems to be ready for a straight-set win at the moment, so we go with over 2.5 sets in total.
