Karatsev beats off weather and Shapo for victory

Aslan Karatsev outfought the weather and ninth seed Denis Shapovalov at Indian Wells to record a 7-5, 6-2 victory to keep up his challenge for an ATP Finals spot next month.

The No. 12 seed had fewer errors in a match littered with mistakes – Shapovalov had 26 unforced errors, 12 more than his Russian opponent.

“The first thing you want to try to do is keep focusing because the weather conditions were tough for both of us,” Karatsev said.

“The first set I tried to find my serve, especially on the second serve, it didn’t work. The main goal was to keep focused… It was super windy today.

“[It’s my] first time here in Indian Wells. It’s an amazing place. It’s nice to be here, to stay here, the atmosphere is really cool. The stadium is almost full, so it’s really nice to play.”

Karatsev converted the only break of the first set for 6-5 when Shapovalov missed a backhand volley and took there second set with ease as the Canadian’s error counted rose.

Peter Rowe

Recent Posts

Nadal goes down in final match

Rafael Nadal lined up for what was to be the final match of his career…

3 days ago

Sinner flattens de Minaur in runaway home start

Jannik Sinner took charge in front of his home crowd on Sunday, crushing ATP Finals…

2 weeks ago

Madcap Medvedev suffers temperamental Turin Finals loss

Daniil Medvedev went into meltdown mode on Sunday during a highly charged 6-4, 6-3 loss, with opponent…

2 weeks ago

Team Sinner considering skipping Monte Carlo

Jannik Sinner could well be missing from the opening European clay event of next season…

2 weeks ago

Davis Cup Final to mark Nadal goodbye to tennis

Rafael Nadal will bring down the curtain on his career next month as he plays his…

1 month ago

Wimbledon lowers the boom on human linecalling

Wimbledon on Wednesday brought an end to human linecalling at the most traditional of the…

1 month ago