Shapovalov: ‘I Feel Like I’m Able To Beat Any Of The Players’
“It doesn’t matter who’s on the other side, I’m going to play my game and when it clicks, then it clicks,” Shapovalov said. “I don’t know if it’s ever a specific moment or not, but it just happens.”
After taking a wild card to enter the field, Shapovalov has his work cut out for him but he’s focussed on the task at hand.
“You get a win here or there and then you start feeling super confident,” he said. “That’s where I think I can be dangerous; when I start getting those couple wins under my belt, start feeling my game, then I feel like I’m able to beat any of the players.”
The 22-year-old is the top seed at an ATP Tour event for just the second time, having lost his opener as the top seed in Sofia last year. He’ll be making his Estoril debut and taking on Moutet for the first time.
“No expectations, I just try and take it one match at a time and really just focus on myself,” Shapovalov said. “I do think I could go deep in these tournaments. I love to play no matter where I am, no matter against whom, I just love to play, I love to dominate and play aggressively.”
Shapovalov has won one ATP Tour title, on indoor hard courts in Stockholm in 2019. Last year, he enjoyed a breakthrough when he reached the quarter-finals of the US Open followed by his first week inside of the Top 10. Though clay is not his favourite surface, Shapovalov has also proven capable on it.
“If I’m being completely honest, I prefer other surfaces,” Shapovalov said. “I do love the feeling of playing on clay, the sliding. It is more gruelling, it’s longer points. I think my favourite is grass. There is just practically no rallies, so it’s awesome. It is just serves and returns, it’s perfect.”
Against Moutet, Shapovalov can expect long rallies and a lot of changes in pace with the Frenchman favouring the drop shot.
“You try to build the points a little bit more, you try to be a bit more patient, construct a bit more on the clay because obviously a lot of guys are far back and it’s much slower so it’s tough to just hit and come in,” Shapovalov said. “You have to really pick the right ball. But nonetheless, on hard courts or on clay courts or whatever surface I’m playing on I’m trying to be aggressive and come in, so it doesn’t really change at the end of the day.”