Denis Shapovalov will face Pablo Carreno Busta instead of Novak Djokovic in the U.S. Open quarterfinals on Tuesday. The winner will advance to meet either Alexander Zverev or Borna Coric.
(12) Denis Shapovalov vs. (20) Pablo Carreno Busta
Pablo Carreno Busta had a supporting actor role in the biggest Grand Slam drama in a good long while. He was world No. 1 Novak Djokovic’s opponent when the Serb was defaulted in the round of 16, which earned him a spot in this quarterfinal match.
While Carreno Busta wasn’t exactly thrashing Djokovic in that match, the Spaniard was up a break in the first set–and Djokovic’s frustration at his missed opportunities are ultimately what led to the ill-fated ball strike that saw him out of the tournament.
Denis Shapovalov, the entertaining 21-year-old, is coming into his own after a difficult start to the 2020 season. He hadn’t been able to win back-to-back matches at any point until this fortnight. The Canadian has had big wins over seeded players David Goffin (7) and Taylor Fritz (19) en route to this quarterfinal.
Shapovalov and Carreno Busta have already met four times. PCB holds the edge with a 3-1 record. Their first meeting was right in New York in the 2017 round of 16, when Carreno Busta won three straight tiebreakers to advance. Most recently, the two men met in both Chengdu and Vienna last fall; Carreno Busta won in straight sets both times.
While it certainly would be more intimidating to face a 17-time slam winner in Djokovic, Carreno Busta is also no hard-court slouch. If Shapovalov allows errors into his game, going for too much too early, he’s going to have a hard time holding off the veteran.
Cheryl pick: Carreno Busta in 4
Ricky pick: Carreno Busta in 5
2nd match on Ashe tonight….could be wildly entertaining (will certainly be more entertaining than last night!!)….Shapo in 3.
It won’t settle in 3. This match may favor PCB. It is time for Shapo to farewell NY.
Glad Pablo won so as to back up his win and show he belongs at the Open!!
Vamos!!!
Happy for PCB, but I think the winner is going to come from the other side of the draw. He lost the 4th set at love? Was he tanking it?