”He’s doing a great job” – In form Denis Shapovalov happy with new coaching arrangement

Dennis Shapovalov has moved into the quarter-finals of the Dubai Duty Free Championships with a straight sets victory over Taro Daniel 6-4, 6-3.

The contest lasted 1 hour and 24 minutes and is the second time the Canadian has reached the quarter finals in as many years in Dubai.

Despite a turbulent start to the season for the World number 14, with losses in the Rotterdam and Qatar Open to unseeded opponents, Shapovalov had been buoyant ahead of the tournament in Dubai, praising his newly appointed coach, Jamie Delgado.

The former coach of Andy Murray and an ex-professional tennis player himself, Delgado started working with Shapovalov in December 2021 who says that he is reaping the benefits of their newly formed partnership. ”The couple of things we have been able to work on in the last couple of months have definitely improved my game and been a huge impact on it”.

”He is doing a great job of just connecting the whole team together. Everyone is really on the same page, I think that is so important for a team to just know everyone knows what is going on and everyone is working together. Yes he has done a great job so far” he said to Tennis TV.

As well as a convincing win versus  Daniel in the last 16, Shapovalov also beat the World number 36 Marton Fucsovics in the round of 32, a feat he had previously never managed, having lost in their previous meeting at the 2020 Australian Open.

The 22 year-old Shapovalov is set to face World number 99 Ricardas Berankis for a place in the Dubai semi-finals, with the two players having played each other on three separate occasions, Shapovalov winning twice.

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