Novak Djokovic celebrates after defeating Denis Shapovalov in Melbourne on Tuesday.
World No. 1 Novak Djokovic started 2021 season on a good note as he defeated Denis Shapovalov in the group stages of ATP Cup 7-5, 7-5, in Melbourne on Tuesday.
Despite a straight-set win, it wasn't a cakewalk for the Serb as the duo fought tooth and nail with the two staying on the serve for the first 11 games. It was Djokovic who broke the Canadian's serve in the 12th game and then won the next point to take one-set lead.
The second turned out to be an action replay of the first one with the 17-time Grand Slam winner missed an early chance to break. However, he broke Shapovalov in the last game of the set, with a forehand passing shot up the line to close it out after an hour and 53 minutes.
With the win, Djokovic head-to-head record against Shapovalov now stands at six to nothing.
“It’s a great opening of the season. I hope all of you that came today enjoyed it, because I certainly did,” the Serb said in his on-court interview. “It was a very close match. Playing Shapo is always a great challenge. On hard courts he’s such a dynamic, explosive player and very talented—he has a great future ahead of him, that’s for sure. And I thought we both played on a really high level today.
“I’m very pleased with how I started this season.”
