After taking advantage of Novak Djokovic’s disqualification in the previous round, Spain’s Pablo Carreno qualified for the semi-finals of the US Open at the expense of Canada’s Denis Shapovalov on Tuesday.
The Spaniard Pablo Carreno (27th in the world) qualified for the semi-finals of the US Open, after his victory at the expense of the Canadian Denis Shapovalov (3-6, 7-6, 7-6, 0-6, 6-3), Tuesday night session at Flushing Meadows. Aged 29, Carreno reached for the second time in his career the last four of the New York Major after 2017. He will play against the German Alexander Zverev (7th) for a first place in the final.
Often battered by the service (26 aces) and the winning shots (76 against 33) opponents, the Spaniard, tireless defender-blocker, ended up having the last word on the Canadian, to whom he blocked the road to the US Open for the second time after his victory in 2017 in the round of 16.
“I am destroyed, but very, very happy”
His fourth victory (a loss) for their fifth confrontation took a long time to materialize as he won in 4:08. Carreno, who had benefited from a stroke of fate in the previous round with the disqualification of Novak Djokovic, author of a dangerous gesture of temper in the direction of a linesman, suffered at the start of the match without being able to really respond.
But his resistance increased and he cracked Shapovalov twice in the tie-breaks in the 2nd and 3rd sets. Accusing a drop in speed in the fourth, after which he received treatment on his back, the Barcelona was the strongest in the fifth round, during which his young opponent was too imprecise (76 unforced errors in total against 42).
“I’m destroyed, but very, very happy. The last few months have been tough for everyone. I feel lucky to be where I am tonight,” he said after the fact.
