Denis Shapovalov vs Tomas Berdych Tennis Prediction
These two players met once in the Queens Club (grass) last season when Tomas Berdych edged past the then 18-year-old Denis Shapovalov, 7-6 6-7 7-5. While Berdych is hugely experienced at this level, the Canadian has got a lot of momentum on his side which makes this a close contest.
Denis Shapovalov News
Denis Shapovalov had a confidence-boosting run at the Madrid Masters last week where he defeated the likes of Milos Raonic (Canadian #1) and Kyle Edmund (British #1) before losing to the German #1 and eventual Champion Alexander Zverev in the semifinal.
It was a much-needed win for the Canadian teenager considering he was on a three-match losing run before entering the Madrid Masters with his last clay win coming in the 2016 Moscow Challenger (against Alexandre Sidorenko).
The semifinal run at Madrid was Shapovalov’s second semifinal appearance in an ATP Masters 1000 event having previously reached the semifinal at Montreal 2017 (breakthrough tournament). It is also his career-best result in a clay tour-level tournament.
After a successful debut campaign in Madrid, the Next Gen Star now makes his debut at the Rome Masters this week, as a direct entrant, thanks to his current and career-high ranking, #29.
Since pulling out of his quarterfinal match against David Goffin in Rotterdam (Febrarury 2018), Tomas Berdych has struggled to produce convincing performances, losing five of the following nine matches.
Tomas Berdych News
The Czech #1 is currently on a three-match losing run with his recent defeat coming against Richard Gasquet in Madrid last week (R1), who himself is struggling with fitness issues.
Former world #4 Tomas Berdych has done reasonably well at Rome Masters in the past. In his previous 13 appearances, he made the semifinal once and quarterfinal four times. Only twice he lost a first-round match here, against Mischa Zverev in 2009 and Stan Wawrinka in 2005.
Tennis Prediction: Tomas Berdych
Odds: 1.73
