match report
Shapovalov ‘must be on fire’ to beat Tsitsipas in battle of top 10 stars
Shapovalov leads Tsitsipas 5-2 in Lexus ATP Head2Head series
March 5, 2026
ATP Tour
Denis Shapovalov celebrates as he beat Stefanos Tsitsipas in three sets at Indian Wells on Wednesday night.
Written by ATP Staff
Denis Shapovalov’s reaction in Indian Wells on Wednesday night showed as much. The Canadian was excited after defeating Stefanos Tsitsipas 6-2, 3-6, 6-4 to win a showdown between top ten stars and advance to the second round of the BNP Paribas Open.
“It’s definitely not easy to draw a player like Stefano in the first round. I think it was a very difficult match for both of us,” Shapovalov said in the post-match interview. “I knew I had to step up, play my ‘A game’ and come out firing. It’s never easy to do that in the first round, but luckily I was able to do that today. I’m really happy with the win.”
The southpaw takes the field in prime time, taking a 4-2 lead in the Lexus ATP Head2Head series against the former PIF ATP No. 3, who is unseeded at the ATP Masters 1000 tournament for the first time since Cincinnati in 2018. Shapovalov led 6-2 in the second set and immediately broke Tsitsipas’ serve.
The Greek showed why he is a three-time Masters 1000 champion and fought back to reach the deciding set. But as the momentum shifted, Shapovalov regained control of the points and set up a second-round meeting with No. 29 seed Tomas Martin Etcheverry.
“It was tough. The first round, you get a little nervous because of the first round, and then you get a set and then you break, I got a little ahead of myself and started overthinking and tried to play a little too safe,” Shapovalov said. “It was a loose match and you know a guy like that is going to come back and improve his game and play some great tennis. I’m really happy that I was able to close it out.”
