By Richard Pagliaro | Sunday, September 3, 2017
Pablo Carreno Busta fought off three set points ending the run of Canadian qualifier Denis Shapovalov, 7-6, 7-6, 7-6, to reach his first US Open quarterfinal.
Photo credit: @USOpen
Clad in a backward baseball cap that barely contains his unruly thatch of blond hair, Denis Shapovalov has shown audacious shotmaking brilliance of a future US Open finalist.
It won’t happen this year.
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No. 12-seeded Pablo Carreno Busta fended off three set points in the first set ending the inspired run of the 18-year-old Canadian qualifier, 7-6 (2), 7-6 (4), 7-6 (3), to charge into his first US Open quarterfinal without surrendering a set.
Veteran ardor beat youthful flash.
Shapovalov surged out to a 5-2 first-set lead and held set points in the 11th game, but not close.
Ultimately, the 18-year-old shotmaker flirted with the lines too often on pivotal points, while the 26-year-old Spaniard played smart, tough, high-percentage tennis at crunch time.
"When he broke me, I talk to my coach. I don't know if he heard me, because there was a lot of noise. But I told to him that I can win the match, but I need to be very aggressive because he plays really good," Carreno Busta said. "And I just try to do it. I continue fighting all the times with 5-2 in the first set, with 6-5, 15-40 in the first set.
"And then in the tiebreaks, I just play perfect. I played very aggressive. I served really good. It was very tough, because three hours, three sets, three tiebreaks, but of course it was an amazing victory for me. Now I'm in quarterfinals again of a Grand Slam, first time here in US Open, and will try to continue."
Don’t call the Carreno Busta a bracket buster. This is his second straight Grand Slam quarterfinal following his Roland Garros run to the last eight.
Injury-induced absences of Andy Murray, Novak Djokovic, Stan Wawrinka, Milos Raonic and Kei Nishikorit opened up the draw with Carreno Busta being a chief beneficiary. He is the first man to face four qualifiers in a row in a Grand Slam event, but today’s opponent is no ordinary qualifier.
The youngest man in the US Open fourth round since a 17-year-old Michael Chang in 1989 came out firing like an old pro. Stepping into the court to take the Spaniard’s time away, Shapovalov drew a netted backhand for the first break and 4-2.
Throughout the set, the Canadian curled his slider serve out wide on the ad side repeatedly tormenting Carreno Busta, who failed to move left and cover it. Shapovalov whipped the wide serve effectively backing up the break in the seventh game.
Serving for the set at 5-2, Shapovalov blinked. Carreno Busta bolted a forehand pass down the line that splashed on the back line breaking back.
Deadlocked at 30-all, Carreno Busta dodged a potential set point rifling a crosscourt backhand pass that Shapovalov could have volleyed but chose to let pass only to see it drop in. Exploiting that mental mistake, Carreno Busta held to level after 10 games.
A couple of tight forehands put Carreno Busta in a double set point bind, but he coaxed forehand errors on length rallies to save both set points. A 119 mph serve erased a third set point.
Squandered set points haunted Shapovalov in the tie break. The left-hander hooked a sharp-angled wide serve creating an expanse of open court, but wailed a forehand wide to trail 1-3. Carreno Busta stretched the lead to 6-1 then converted his second set point stealing a 58-minute comeback set.
That letdown—combined with the fact Shapovalov was playing his 21st match in the last five weeks—manifested in the Canadian’s shot selection. Shapovalov slapped a forehand into net gifting the break and a 3-1 lead.
The Spaniard is a skilled doubles player and showed it swiping away break point with a slick half volley on a surprise serve-and-volley. By then, Carreno Busta had denied six of seven break points.
Serving for a two-set lead, Carreno Busta’s right arm stiffened with nerves in a horrid ninth game. He couldn’t find a first serve falling into triple break point. Hammering his return, Shapovalov took command of his third break point and snapped off a smash breaking back.
The Barcelona baseliner's match management skills were the difference in all three tie breaks.
Carreno Busta, who had struggled to land first serves at the end of the set, found it in the tie break. He zapped a 111 mph serve down the middle and jammed a body serve into the ribs for a 4-1 lead. A forehand error from the teenager gave Carreno Busta three set points.
Stepping in on return, he rattled Shapovalov’s Yonex racquet with a jolting return for a two-set lead.
The US Open debutant came out roaring with an eight-point run charging to a 3-0 third-set lead. Shapovalov had two break points for a 4-0 lead, but could not convert and a game later betrayed his own cause clanking his third double fault to gift-wrap the break.
Still, Shapovalov had another run in him fending off three break points in the ninth game.
Opening the third-set tiebreak with a double fault, Shapovalov never caught up. Carreno Busta struck a heavy forehand down the line for 4-0 and never looked back closing in two hours, 54 minutes.
Projected to rise to No. 51 when the new ATP rankings are released, Shapovalov showed class in the aftermath giving Carreno Busta an extended embrace, acknowledging the New York fans by tapping his hand on his heart and applauding them and stopping to sign autographs for a few kids on his way out.
Watching his pulsating shotmaking and rockets down the line it’s easy to forget Shapovalov is still a kid himself. If he continues to mature, it won’t be long before the 2016 Wimbledon junior champion is playing for major silverware.
"He's 18 years old. He's very young," Carreno Busta said. "He will be, for sure, one of the best players in the future. I think I am improving my serve and it's very important to me, because when I play with the first serve, I play more aggressive, and then I just try to fight all the time, to fight all the points and try to be positive."
Meanwhile, Carreno Busta kept his cool and continued his march. He will play either 16th-seeded Frenchman Lucas Pouille or 25-year-old Argentine Diego Schwartzman for a final four spot.