Grigor Dimitrov speaks highly of Denis Shapovalov after Rotterdam clash

World No. 22 Grigor Dimitrov was full of praise for 16th-ranked Denis Shapovalov after beating the rising Canadian star in his opener at the ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament in Rotterdam. 

Dimitrov, the 2019 Rotterdam runner-up, handed a straight-set defeat to No. 8 seed Shapovalov 6-3 7-6 (3) to set up a round-of-16 meeting against either Felix Auger-Aliassime or Jan-Lennard Struff. 

Dimitrov, 28, now has a 2-0 head-to-head record against 20-year-old Shapovalov as he also won the first meeting between two at the Toronto Masters in 2016. 

Shapovalov made a strong end to his 2019 season as he won his maiden ATP title on the indoor hard courts of Stockholm, before finishing runner-up to Novak Djokovic in the Paris Masters final. 

"Denis is a quality player,” Dimitrov said of Shapovalov, per the ATP Tour. “Indoors, he is very dangerous with his serve. A lefty. Very uncomfortable, but, in fact, I like to play against lefties a lot. I was trying to use every little opportunity that I had to make sure I seized those moments."

from Tennis World USA https://ift.tt/38jAyxz