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Two of the world’s top 25 players go head to head in the third round in Melbourne as Poland’s Hubert Hurkacz takes on the Canadian Denis Shapalov. Both players have their eyes firmly trained on the second week of the tournament and fancy the Australian Open draw to open up for them.
Prediction 1
Shapovalov To Win
10/11 (1.91)
Prediction 2
Hubert Hurtkacz To Win a Set - No
4/1 (5.00)
These odds from Ladbrokes were correct at the time of writing.
Hubert Hurkacz vs Denis Shapovalov – Match Predictions
Contents
Read on for our tennis predictions for this Australian Open Third Round match, which sees 18th seed Karen Khachanov duke it out with 16th seed Frances Tiafoe. The markets are tight on this one.
Denis Shapovalov To Win
Although we have seen progression from Hubert Hurkacz across his career, the Australian Open is the Grand Slam where he has his weakest win percentage (33%). He comes up against a player who went all the way to the semi-final in Melbourne last year, and we wonder how much Hurkacz will have left in the tank after an energy-sapping five-setter against Italy’s Lorenzo Sonego on Wednesday. Shapovalov trails in career titles and the head to head against Hurkacz, but he is far more comfortable at the Australian Open where he has a win percentage of 64%.
Hubert Hurkacz To Win a Set – No
Hurkacz was dumped out of the tournament in straight sets in the second round last year by Frenchman Adrian Mannarino. Like Shapovalov, Mannarino was a left-hander and, although he was then knocked out in the fourth round, his serve caused Hurkacz problems. Shapovalov has an explosive game and we expect him to look to dominate early with a serve-volley approach. He was only stopped by Rafael Nadal last year and he looks to be far more consistent so far in 2023.
Hubert Hurkacz vs Denis Shapovalov Preview
Let’s take a look at their previous Grand Slam and career records. You can see those details to go with our tennis predictions here:
Hubert Hurkacz
The world number 11 has earnt over $9,000,000 since turning pro in 2015. He has won five ATP Tour titles and got his ranking up to number 9 in November 2021. He has reached one Grand Slam semi-final, Wimbledon in 2021, but only reached one fourth round in 2022, in Paris at the French Open. Here in Australia, this is the first time he has got to the third round.
Denis Shapovalov
Born in Tel Aviv, Israel, the Canadian and world number 23 has been on the professional circuit since 2017. The left-hander won his first and only ATP Tour title at the Stockholm Open in October 2019. Over the last three years, he has got to at least one Grand Slam quarter final in each season including here in Melbourne in 2021. His best Grand Slam performance came at Wimbledon in when he reached the semi-final.
Hubert Hurkacz vs Denis Shapovalov Head to Head
Hubert Hurkacz brings a 3-1 lead in the head to head with Denis Shapovalov with all four games taking place on outdoor hard courts.. The Canadian’s only win came in Dubai in 2021 when he won in straight sets, 6-4 6-3.
Hubert Hurkacz vs Denis Shapovalov Match Details
When will the match start? The match will start at 08:00 am GMT on Friday, 20th January
On which court will the match be played? The match will be played on the Margaret Court Arena in Melbourne.
Where to watch AO 2023 in UK? You can watch Australian Open on Eurosport broadcast and online, or stream it on Discovery +.
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