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World No. 56 Brandon Nakashima was absolutely thrilled after upsetting Denis Shapovalov at Wimbledon as he admitted it doesn't get much than playing and beating a big name at Wimbledon. Shapovalov, 23, enjoyed a great Wimbledon run last year, having reached the semifinal before losing to Novak Djokovic.
Now, a year later, Shapovalov's Wimbledon campaign ended in the second round after Nakashima handed him a 6-2 4-6 6-1 7-6 (6) loss. “It felt amazing out there. To play against such a high-level player on one of the biggest stages, it doesn’t get much better than that,” Nakashima said, per the ATP website.
“The crowd was great out there today. I am happy with the way I played and I am looking forward to the next match”.
Nakashima's confidence grows after beating Shapovalov
Nakashima got off to a strong start to the match, breaking Shapovalov twice to easily win the first set.
Shapovalov bounced back in the second set as he broke Nakashima in the third game and held on to his serve the rest of the set to tie the match to one set apiece. Nakashima responded extremely well to losing the second set as he broke Shapovalov twice in the third set to go up by two sets to one.
As not a single break point was seen in the fourth set - the set had to be resolved in a tie-break - where Nakashima converted his second match point to progress into his first Wimbledon third round. "With each match I think my game is progressing in the right direction,” Nakashima added.
“I am learning a lot from these matches, win or loss. I think getting to the third round in Paris was big for my confidence. Just knowing that I could compete with these top guys at the Grand Slams. Making the third round here is another step in the right direction”. Nakashima now has a great chance to reach the Wimbledon second week as he plays next Daniel Elahi Galan Riveros.