Shapovalov is riding high at Wimbledon as he sets quarter-final clash with Khachanov

Two days after his first Centre Court experience, Denis Shapovalov couldn’t stop raving about how excited he was to finally play a match on the most revered show court in the world. The Canadian loved the electric atmosphere he experienced during his straight sets win over Andy Murray on Day 5, and told reporters after the match that he felt like a kid in a candy store.

“I was just like a kid out there,” he said. “It was just like my dream always to be on that court.”

On Monday on No.3 Court, the 22-year-old Canadian played like he was desperate to play there again.

Shapovalov took a step in that direction by sealing the fate of Spain’s Roberto Bautista Agut, the No 8 seed and a semi-finalist at Wimbledon in 2019, with a commanding 6-1, 6-3, 7-5 victory to set a quarter-final clash with Russia’s Karen Khachanov.

Winners Galore – high octane tennis from Shapovalov

Shapovalov really never let the Spaniard breathe over the course of their two hour and seven-minute encounter. The No 10 seed racked up 52 winners against just 14 for Bautista Agut, and he dominated the first two sets behind four breaks of serve, before edging past the Spaniard in a close third set to book his first career quarter-final at Wimbledon and his second at the Grand Slam level.

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Shapovalov has struck 155 winners through four rounds at Wimbledon (only three matches due to a second-round walkover), against 122 unforced errors. He has cracked an impressive 34 backhand winners in three matches.

A wild finish for Khachanov

About an hour before Shapovalov completed his uncomplicated victory, Karen Khachanov was involved in a wild seesaw battle in set five with 21-year-old American Sebstian Korda. There were 13 breaks of serve in the fifth set and though Khachanov had his struggles on Court 18 against the booming strokes of the rising American, he gutted out the victory, finally serving out a 3-6, 6-4, 6-3, 5-7, 10-8 victory to improve to 4-0 lifetime in five-setters at Wimbledon, and 6-7 in five-setters at the Grand Slam level.

The 81-minute fifth set featured 25 break opportunities in total. It was Korda’s first five-setter at the Grand Slam level.

Khachanov improves to an impressive 11-3 lifetime at Wimbledon with his win.

Shapovalov and Khachanov have faced each other one time previously, with Shapovalov taking a three-set decision at the 2019 Davis Cup Finals.