Denis Shapovalov in 'better spirits,' feels like at home in Madrid

Canadian tennis star Denis Shapovalov was in great spirits after ending his losing streak at the Madrid Masters.

Shapovalov, ranked at No. 14 in the world, handed a 6-1 6-3 loss to Serbian tennis star Dusan Lajovic to progress into the Madrid second round.

Shapovalov claimed two breaks in the first set and lost no service games to easily win the opener.

Lajovic performed much better in the second set as he led 3-2 after the opening five games but then suffered back-to-back breaks as Shapovalov booked a straight-set win. 

"Felt a lot better today, very good on the court. (...) Madrid is a place where I have had a lot of success from back in juniors, making semis here in the Masters and finals of DavisCup. So it's just a place where it just kind of feels like home to me. I just feel so comfortable," Shapovalov said after his win, per Jose Morgado.

Shapovalov was coming off back-to-back losses 

Shapovalov lost to Felix Auger-Aliassime at the Monte Carlo Masters, before losing to Corentin Moutet in his opener at the Barcelona Open.

"I don’t know, I have to go back and just speak with the team because my game is there but when I’m going out to the match it’s not coming out and it’s a mental issue more than anything else, because I’m practicing very good and at a very high level, and I’m just not able to bring that level out in the matches,” Shapovalov said after losing to Moutet, per Tennis Majors.

"I’m always trying to be aggressive but I don’t think I was aggressive enough,” he said, “and I was just like doubting myself a lot on those shots and that’s why I’m missing, I’m like half-committing to coming in, half-committing to staying back, so I’m a little bit confused out there and that’s why there were so many mistakes”.

from Tennis World USA https://ift.tt/3aW42Vi