HUNGARIAN, Marton Fucsovics delivered the upset of the round on Day 1 of the Australian Open knocking out 13th seed Denis Shapovalov in a three-hour thriller 3-6 7-6 1-6 6-7. It was arguably the match of the day with the two players going toe-to-toe in the second and fourth set not willing to give an inch forced to a tiebreak on each occasion. Fucsovics came to play from the opening set with the 27-year-old showing what he is worth and taking it to the highly touted Canadian youngster.

After going down in the first set 3-6, Shapovalov rallied in the second to pose a threat and push the game beyond three sets but Fucsovics hit back to regain control of the match. Shapovalov struggled to build any momentum credit to Fucsovics dictating the play with his ability to win on the second serve converting 54 per cent compared to 39 per cent.

The third set really let Shapovalov down with the Canadian only managing to win one game with Fucsovics making light work of his opponent. Fucsovics was persistent and cautious forcing his opponent to run across the court and try to return serve while he stood there and delivered time and time again. Ill-discipline was the key feature of Shapovalov’s game with the 20-year-old making a whopping 62 errors while Fucsovics only made 35 errors helping him to a hard-fought win. The Hungarian also hit 42 winners as opposed to 38 highlighting just how dominant he can be, on his given day.

Shapovalov was deadly on the serve, dishing up seven aces compared to Fucsovics’ three but that did little damage to the Hungarians confidence which grew with confidence as the game went on. The 13th seed tried to combat Fucsovics with speed averaging 190km, six more kilometres than his opponent on the first serve while his second serve had just as much bite to it with an average of 161km but that did not seem to bother the Hungarian who plied his trade and rode the wave of momentum. When it came to accuracy on the first serve only two per cent separated both players with Shapovalov sitting at 61 per cent making 86 of his 142 serves count while Fucsovics reigned supreme with 63 per cent in the serving battle. Fuscovics capitalised on his opportunities when it came to break points converting six from 11 at 55 per cent while the Canadian did not have the same luck, unable to make the most of his chances only making good on one.

Despite showing glimpses of brilliance, Shapovalov was simply outrun and outclassed by the experience of Fucsovics who did not let up with his competitive nature and desperation to succeed. The win allows the Hungarian to progress through to the next stage of the Australian Open.