Taylor Fritz vs Denis Shapovalov Prediction & Betting Tips - ATP Acapulco Open

Prediction published on 28/02/2023, 06:19  by Steve Ashfield | Modified on 28/02/2023 at 07:52 in Tennis Predictions

Third seeded Taylor Fritz faces Denis Shapovalov for a place in the Mexican Open quarter finals. Fritz had a tough first round match against fellow American John Isner. He lost the first set but won the next two for the loss of seven matches with a tie-break nowhere in sight. Fritz began this tournament ranked a career high fifth. There's a gap of nearly 2000 points to Casper Ruud in fourth so he has a lot of work to do to catch him. Fritz is sixth in the Live ATP Race rankings and a win here will take him up to fifth in that list too. It's been a good start to the new year for the 25-year-old who was part of the US team that won the United Cup. He won four of his five matches in that team event, only losing to Cameron Norrie. Since then, he's reached the semi-finals in Dallas and won the Delray Beach Open. His only real disappointment was losing in the second round of the Australian Open to Alexei Popyrin.

Denis Shapovalov also had to go to three sets to win his first round match. The Canadian had an eventful match against Miomir Kecmanovic and lost the first set on a tie-break. He stormed back to win the second set without dropping a game and won the final set 7-5. He began this week ranked 30th which is disappointing as he was in 18th position at the start of the year. He's only 60th in the Live ATP Race and that shows what an inconsistent start he's made to 2023. It started ok with a run to the last eight in the first Adelaide International where he lost to Novak Djokovic in straight sets. The third round of the Australian Open was reached but he came into this tournament having lost his last three matches. His win over Kecmanovic (ranked 31st) is the only victory he's had this year over a top 80 ranked player. He leads Fritz 5-2 in previous meetings but three of his wins came between 2018 and 2020. They met twice last year, each winning a match. Fritz is heading the right way in the rankings and can win this match.