TennisSection previews the 2021 Gstaad Open as Denis Shapovalov (1) takes on Vit Kopriva (Q) in the Second Round on Thursday, July 22nd, 2021.
Will Vit Kopriva be able to continue improving on his game as he has come through qualifying and now cruised through his First Round match by causing an upset against the top seed? Will Denis Shapovalov be able to show us the incredible level of tennis he showed at Wimbledon, but on clay as he aims to get another title campaign under his belt? It will be interesting to see where Shapovalov’s clay game is at as he enters the 2021 Gstaad Open not having played on clay in over a month and a half.
Vit Kopriva has finally gotten his maiden ATP Tour win under his belt as he beat the local wildcard Johan Nikles in the First Round in straight sets 6-2/6-1. Vit Kopriva was very strong in that match, continuously hitting deep balls into the court, and Nikles just did not seem to be ready to give it his best. However, Kopriva also had the luxury of getting used to the conditions here in Gstaad as he had come through qualifying. Vit Kopriva is not a well known player, and it has taken him until the age of 24 to win an ATP Tour match, with most of his career being focused on the Challenger Tour. Kopriva will have nothing to lose, so he will give it his all here at the 2021 Gstaad Open, but he meets an in form top seed in Denis Shapovalov.
Denis Shapovalov, now a Top 10 player, has been playing some great tennis recently, reaching the Semi-Finals of the 2021 Wimbledon Championships earlier this month. Denis will know that he has played well in many tournaments this year, but he still only has 1 title to his name, a title which he won in 2019. Denis Shapovalov is a top 10 player, so we would expect for his trophy cabinet to be bigger than just 1 title. Here at the 2021 Gstaad Open, Denis enters as the 1st seed, and if he plays like he did at Wimbledon with his amazing power off both his forehand and one-handed backhand, there should be no reason why he does not cruise through Vit Kopriva and gain some momentum in his hopeful title run.
Denis Shapovalov and Vit Kopriva have never met before, with this being their first meeting on the ATP Tour. Although Vit Kopriva won his first ATP Tour match this week and he will be very happy with that, I still don’t see him being able to get anything going against Denis Shapovalov. Vit has nothing to lose, so he will give it his all, but his all is not enough. Denis will not want to waste any time in this match as he will want to gain some confidence and momentum in his first clay match in over a month and a half, so he will use his incredible flamboyant lefty game and move Kopriva around the court in every point, tiring him out, and making his way to the Quarter-Finals of the 2021 Gstaad Open in straight sets.
Free Tennis Pick and Prediction: Denis Shapovalov in 2 Sets.
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