Pablo pounces; passes Shapo test.
WHAT HAPPENED: Spain’s Pablo Carreno Busta is into his second Grand Slam quarterfinal of the year after dispatching Canadian upstart Denis Shapovalov in a trio of tiebreak sets, 7-6(2), 7-6(4), 7-6(3), on a rainy afternoon at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center.
Shapovalov, 18, became the youngest player to reach the round of 16 at the US Open since American Michael Chang (17) in 1989. But his youth, his inexperience on the sport’s biggest stages, may have proven his undoing in the end. Not that Carreno Busta is by any means an old-timer. In fact, the 26-year-old is the youngest Spaniard in the Top 100 (No. 19). But the Barcelonan sure played with veteran poise on Sunday in Flushing Meadows, and was clearly the steadier of the two.
“It’s amazing,” said Carreno Busta, who has yet to drop a set in four matches (12-0). “It’s the first time I’ve played singles on this court – Arthur Ashe. It’s different than the other courts. I cannot describe it.”
“I just tried to fight all the time,” he added. “Every point is very important for me. In the second set, I was 5-3 on serve and I lost it. I just tried to focus and continue.”
The clay-bred Carreno Busta is hardly a one-surface wonder. Like his countryman Rafael Nadal, he has shown that he can attack on a variety of surfaces. But he brought a dirtballer’s mentality to the court on Day 7, a patient, grinder’s outlook that saw him play world-class defense and own the majority of the extended exchanges from the baseline. While Shapovalov ventured into the net on 44 occasions (winning 27 of those points), Carreno Busta was just 11 for 15.
It wasn’t as if Shapovalov didn’t have his chances. In fact, he moved ahead 4-2 in the opening set with the first break of the match. But a loose service game at 5-2 would bring the set back on serve. Three games later, with his opponent serving down 5-6, he would squander three set points and subsequently drop the set in a lopsided 7-2 tiebreak.
The foes traded breaks in the fourth and ninth games of a tight second set, Shapovalov pulling to within 4-5 with a monstrous overhead that eluded Carreno Busta’s reach. But as with the first set, the stanza would come down to a tiebreak. This one would go the Spaniard’s way, too, as he out-steadied his young challenger 7-4.
The unforced errors began to mount for Shapovalov in the third set (21 of his 55 miscues would come in that set alone). But the Canadian hung in there to force the third and final breaker, only to see his opponent surge to leads of 4-0 and 6-1 before closing it out 7-3.
WHAT IT MEANS: Carreno Busta, who finished with 25 winners to 29 unforced errors, came into the match at 33-18 on the year, having won Estroil, and reached the semis or better in Rio de Janeiro, Buenos Aires and Indian Wells – the first ATP World Tour Masters 1000 semifinal of his career.
With his win Sunday, Carreno Busta moves on to play the winner of the fourth-round contest between 16th-seed Lucas Pouille and No. 29 Diego Schwartzman. Regardless of his opponent, it will be a first-time head-to-head.
Shapovalov, meanwhile, has little reason to hang his head. Here we thought Canadian tennis had gone bust at the US Open. What with the pre-tournament pullout of standard-bearer Milos Raonic and the first-round exit of Eugenie Bouchard, we figured our neighbors from the north were depleted. But Shapovalov’s run in New York, which included an upset of No. 8 seed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the second round, impressed many an observer. As it turns out, his semifinal showing last month in front of his home-country fans in Montreal, where he scored an ahead-of-his-years upset of Nadal, was no fluke.
Much has been written about the teen’s freewheeling ground strokes, his full-orbit backhand and his contagious on-court energy. But the Canuck’s most potent weapon may just be his footwork. Watching him pull back to neutral between shots on the Ashe Stadium cement was akin to watching a lead dancer cover the floor at the Met.
Measured by the reception he received from the crowd when he took the court on Labor Day weekend, the year-end Grand Slam will likely be remembered as Shapovalov’s coming out party. We’re sure to see lots more of the player with the shock-blonde mullet and ill-fitting ballcap (is it “Shapo Fashion” or “Chapeau Fashion?”) in the years to come.
MATCH POINT: Prior to 2017, Carreno Busta had never advanced beyond the third round at Grand Slam. He’s now into his second major quarterfinal of the year. Does he have the weaponry to reach the Final Four?
WHAT HAPPENED: Spain’s Pablo Carreno Busta is into his second Grand Slam quarterfinal of the year after dispatching Canadian upstart Denis Shapovalov in a trio of tiebreak sets, 7-6(2), 7-6(4), 7-6(3), on a rainy afternoon at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center.
Shapovalov, 18, became the youngest player to reach the round of 16 at the US Open since American Michael Chang (17) in 1989. But his youth, his inexperience on the sport’s biggest stages, may have proven his undoing in the end. Not that Carreno Busta is by any means an old-timer. In fact, the 26-year-old is the youngest Spaniard in the Top 100 (No. 19). But the Barcelonan sure played with veteran poise on Sunday in Flushing Meadows, and was clearly the steadier of the two.
“It’s amazing,” said Carreno Busta, who has yet to drop a set in four matches (12-0). “It’s the first time I’ve played singles on this court – Arthur Ashe. It’s different than the other courts. I cannot describe it.”
“I just tried to fight all the time,” he added. “Every point is very important for me. In the second set, I was 5-3 on serve and I lost it. I just tried to focus and continue.”
The clay-bred Carreno Busta is hardly a one-surface wonder. Like his countryman Rafael Nadal, he has shown that he can attack on a variety of surfaces. But he brought a dirtballer’s mentality to the court on Day 7, a patient, grinder’s outlook that saw him play world-class defense and own the majority of the extended exchanges from the baseline. While Shapovalov ventured into the net on 44 occasions (winning 27 of those points), Carreno Busta was just 11 for 15.
It wasn’t as if Shapovalov didn’t have his chances. In fact, he moved ahead 4-2 in the opening set with the first break of the match. But a loose service game at 5-2 would bring the set back on serve. Three games later, with his opponent serving down 5-6, he would squander three set points and subsequently drop the set in a lopsided 7-2 tiebreak.
The foes traded breaks in the fourth and ninth games of a tight second set, Shapovalov pulling to within 4-5 with a monstrous overhead that eluded Carreno Busta’s reach. But as with the first set, the stanza would come down to a tiebreak. This one would go the Spaniard’s way, too, as he out-steadied his young challenger 7-4.
The unforced errors began to mount for Shapovalov in the third set (21 of his 55 miscues would come in that set alone). But the Canadian hung in there to force the third and final breaker, only to see his opponent surge to leads of 4-0 and 6-1 before closing it out 7-3.
WHAT IT MEANS: Carreno Busta, who finished with 25 winners to 29 unforced errors, came into the match at 33-18 on the year, having won Estroil, and reached the semis or better in Rio de Janeiro, Buenos Aires and Indian Wells – the first ATP World Tour Masters 1000 semifinal of his career.
With his win Sunday, Carreno Busta moves on to play the winner of the fourth-round contest between 16th-seed Lucas Pouille and No. 29 Diego Schwartzman. Regardless of his opponent, it will be a first-time head-to-head.
Shapovalov, meanwhile, has little reason to hang his head. Here we thought Canadian tennis had gone bust at the US Open. What with the pre-tournament pullout of standard-bearer Milos Raonic and the first-round exit of Eugenie Bouchard, we figured our neighbors from the north were depleted. But Shapovalov’s run in New York, which included an upset of No. 8 seed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the second round, impressed many an observer. As it turns out, his semifinal showing last month in front of his home-country fans in Montreal, where he scored an ahead-of-his-years upset of Nadal, was no fluke.
Much has been written about the teen’s freewheeling ground strokes, his full-orbit backhand and his contagious on-court energy. But the Canuck’s most potent weapon may just be his footwork. Watching him pull back to neutral between shots on the Ashe Stadium cement was akin to watching a lead dancer cover the floor at the Met.
Measured by the reception he received from the crowd when he took the court on Labor Day weekend, the year-end Grand Slam will likely be remembered as Shapovalov’s coming out party. We’re sure to see lots more of the player with the shock-blonde mullet and ill-fitting ballcap (is it “Shapo Fashion” or “Chapeau Fashion?”) in the years to come.
MATCH POINT: Prior to 2017, Carreno Busta had never advanced beyond the third round at Grand Slam. He’s now into his second major quarterfinal of the year. Does he have the weaponry to reach the Final Four?
the kid bids adieu. Had his chances; servign for the 1st set. Then up a break in the 3rd. FULL kudos to Pablo handled the tiebreak pressures with class.....Denis has fantastic fighting spirit . Sure hope his head stays level headed. Could have a bright future
I heard Mr Jones was in the building.....section 113, row G , seat 12
She's suddenly beautiful, we all want something beautiful
Man, I wish I was beautiful
So come dance this silence down through the mornin'
Sha la, la, la, la, la, la, la
Yeah
Uh, huh
Yeah
I heard Mr Jones was in the building.....section 113, row G , seat 12
She's suddenly beautiful, we all want something beautiful
Man, I wish I was beautiful
So come dance this silence down through the mornin'
Sha la, la, la, la, la, la, la
Yeah
Uh, huh
Yeah
Yeah. Man. I Hear Ya.
Denis, appears to me to have a special unique set of somethings, "skillset" if you will.....with temperament, that give him the inside lane to Future Greatness. Maybe even a degree of Domination. So Great to get introduced to this great young hungry to excel player and these many others.
I discovered another System: Play Over on Match if its a player's Birthday. Combined With the SBSE I think we would have cashed a 3-Teamer. Missed That. Thiem's Birthday today, Suarez-Navarro's Birthday too....plus The girls who have names ending in OVA vs. another girl who's name end in OVA.
Diego gets through the the quarters.....He beats the Frenchman Lucas Pouille.....7-6...7-5...2-6...6-2.
Maria, i hate to see you go.....You`re 1 of my sweethearts.....Anastasija Sevastova takes it in 3 sets.....5-7...6-4...6-2.
Schwartzman knocks out Pouille to make first major QF.
WHAT HAPPENED: Doesn't Diego Schwartzman know the rules? The second week of Grand Slams are where favorites reign and underdogs lose. Then again, the 5-foot-7 Argentine has spent a career ignoring conventional wisdom, so why stop now?
The 29th seed won another match he was supposed to lose on Sunday at the US Open, feeding off a packed Grandstand crowd and overcoming injury to beat 16th seed Lucas Pouille 7-6, 7-5, 2-6, 6-2 and reach his first Grand Slam quarterfinal.
"I think I played my best match today because I did everything good... Lucas is an aggressive player and I did many winners and I did many times to the net," said Schwartzman, who finished with 44 winners and won 62 percent of his net points (21/34). "I just enjoy the moment."
Before this fortnight, Schwartzman had never advanced past the third round of a Grand Slam. His best performance in New York had been a second-round run two years ago, when he lost to Rafael Nadal.
But the Argentine has been playing his best tennis this season, and he's brought his fan-friendly game to Queens, much to the delight of his fans, who have been clad in powder blue and white Argentinian fùtbol jerseys and have serenaded their star with chants of "Ole, ole, ole, ole. Di-ego, Di-ego!"
Pouille, though, had been here before and had come up big under the bright lights of New York. In the fourth round last year, the Frenchman upset fifth seed and two-time champion Nadal in a fifth-set tiebreaker to reach his first US Open quarterfinal.
He started quickly against Schwartzman, breaking in the fourth game to lead 3-1. But Schwartzman has come to expect to lose some service games. No one on tour drops their serve more often than the Argentine, who, at 5-foot-7, has to rely on placement and spin more than power and pace. But Schwartzman compensates for his meager serve with one of the best return games in the world.
Only 2012 US Open champion Andy Murray has broken more during the past 52 weeks than Schwartzman, who has won 35 percent of his return games. He struck back immediately against Pouille and stayed the aggressor in the tiebreaker, winning his four final points with winners.
Pouille mixed it up in the second set, slicing drop shots to force Schwartzman away from the baseline. The Frenchman broke twice but couldn't maintain the lead and was broken for a third time while serving to stay in the set at 5-6. On set point, Pouille served and volleyed for the first time in the set and Schwartzman ripped a forehand past him.
Injury struck Schwartzman in the third, and he received a medical timeout at 5-2. After a trainer heavily wrapped his right thigh to start the fourth, his victory looked in doubt. He shook his head at his box. But Schwartzman fought on and Pouille faded, hitting only four winners and 12 unforced errors, including a double fault on match point.
"I am a little bit not sure what happened wth my leg. It's really painful but I am, in the same place, I am really happy to be in the quarterfinals for the first time," Schwartzman said. "Thanks everyone to make a lot of noise today for me. It was really helping in the fourth set because i was just thinking about my leg. I don't know how but I win and im really happy for that."
WHAT IT MEANS: The best stretch of Schwartzman's career keeps going at the season's final Grand Slam. Schwartzman, who is at a career-high No. 33, now has a chance to add a new label to the best season of his career: Grand Slam semifinalist. Schwartzman will meet Spaniard Pablo Carreno Busta in the quarterfinals on Tuesday. Both players will be attempting to reach their first major semifinal.
The Buenos Aires native also continues to shatter the myth that he's a clay-court counterpuncher. The 5-foot-7 right-hander attacked the net more often and hit more winners than the 6-foot-1 Pouille, who reached the fourth round of a Grand Slam for the first time this season in New York.
MATCH POINT: With 18-year-old Canadian Denis Shapovalov out of the US Open, will the underdog Schwartzman become the new fan favorite?
WHAT HAPPENED: Doesn't Diego Schwartzman know the rules? The second week of Grand Slams are where favorites reign and underdogs lose. Then again, the 5-foot-7 Argentine has spent a career ignoring conventional wisdom, so why stop now?
The 29th seed won another match he was supposed to lose on Sunday at the US Open, feeding off a packed Grandstand crowd and overcoming injury to beat 16th seed Lucas Pouille 7-6, 7-5, 2-6, 6-2 and reach his first Grand Slam quarterfinal.
"I think I played my best match today because I did everything good... Lucas is an aggressive player and I did many winners and I did many times to the net," said Schwartzman, who finished with 44 winners and won 62 percent of his net points (21/34). "I just enjoy the moment."
Before this fortnight, Schwartzman had never advanced past the third round of a Grand Slam. His best performance in New York had been a second-round run two years ago, when he lost to Rafael Nadal.
But the Argentine has been playing his best tennis this season, and he's brought his fan-friendly game to Queens, much to the delight of his fans, who have been clad in powder blue and white Argentinian fùtbol jerseys and have serenaded their star with chants of "Ole, ole, ole, ole. Di-ego, Di-ego!"
Pouille, though, had been here before and had come up big under the bright lights of New York. In the fourth round last year, the Frenchman upset fifth seed and two-time champion Nadal in a fifth-set tiebreaker to reach his first US Open quarterfinal.
He started quickly against Schwartzman, breaking in the fourth game to lead 3-1. But Schwartzman has come to expect to lose some service games. No one on tour drops their serve more often than the Argentine, who, at 5-foot-7, has to rely on placement and spin more than power and pace. But Schwartzman compensates for his meager serve with one of the best return games in the world.
Only 2012 US Open champion Andy Murray has broken more during the past 52 weeks than Schwartzman, who has won 35 percent of his return games. He struck back immediately against Pouille and stayed the aggressor in the tiebreaker, winning his four final points with winners.
Pouille mixed it up in the second set, slicing drop shots to force Schwartzman away from the baseline. The Frenchman broke twice but couldn't maintain the lead and was broken for a third time while serving to stay in the set at 5-6. On set point, Pouille served and volleyed for the first time in the set and Schwartzman ripped a forehand past him.
Injury struck Schwartzman in the third, and he received a medical timeout at 5-2. After a trainer heavily wrapped his right thigh to start the fourth, his victory looked in doubt. He shook his head at his box. But Schwartzman fought on and Pouille faded, hitting only four winners and 12 unforced errors, including a double fault on match point.
"I am a little bit not sure what happened wth my leg. It's really painful but I am, in the same place, I am really happy to be in the quarterfinals for the first time," Schwartzman said. "Thanks everyone to make a lot of noise today for me. It was really helping in the fourth set because i was just thinking about my leg. I don't know how but I win and im really happy for that."
WHAT IT MEANS: The best stretch of Schwartzman's career keeps going at the season's final Grand Slam. Schwartzman, who is at a career-high No. 33, now has a chance to add a new label to the best season of his career: Grand Slam semifinalist. Schwartzman will meet Spaniard Pablo Carreno Busta in the quarterfinals on Tuesday. Both players will be attempting to reach their first major semifinal.
The Buenos Aires native also continues to shatter the myth that he's a clay-court counterpuncher. The 5-foot-7 right-hander attacked the net more often and hit more winners than the 6-foot-1 Pouille, who reached the fourth round of a Grand Slam for the first time this season in New York.
MATCH POINT: With 18-year-old Canadian Denis Shapovalov out of the US Open, will the underdog Schwartzman become the new fan favorite?
