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#NextGenATP Canadian is the youngest player remaining at 18
As a final backhand from No. 11 Sam Querrey’s racquet dropped into the net on Monday afternoon, #NextGenATP Canadian Denis Shapovalov pointed at his left forearm and yelled “I’ve got ice in my veins!”

Just four days after saving match point in a third-set tie-break in his opener, the 18-year-old defeated Querrey 6-4, 3-6, 7-5 at the Miami Open presented by Itau to advance to the Round of 16 in his debut.


"It was a really tough match and I just fought for every point and I'm really happy to get the win," Shapovalov said. "Sam's such an incredible player, so it's a huge win for me."

A year ago this week, Shapovalov lost in the first round of an ATP Challenger Tour event in Leon, Mexico, beginning a streak of four consecutive losses at the Challenger level. He still was well outside of the Top 150 in the ATP Rankings.

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But with the three-set triumph, the World No. 46 moves into the Round of 16 at an ATP World Tour Masters 1000 event for the second time, after breaking through at last year’s Rogers Cup with a magical run to the semi-finals. The left-hander will face a fellow 2017 Next Gen ATP Finals qualifier, BNP Paribas Open semi-finalist Borna Coric, who defeated American Jack Sock 5-7, 7-6(4), 6-3. Coric held his nerve through a short rain delay at 5-3 in the final set, before returning to break Sock to close out the match.

Querrey, who made the quarter-finals at Indian Wells, broke early on in the deciding set, but Shapovalov immediately retrieved it. Then, the teenager fought off seven more break points in the set, while the American lost just three points in his next three service games. But while returning with a 6-5 lead, Shapovalov pounced on his first match-point opportunity to claim his fourth Top 20 win.

"I wasn't putting a lot of first serves in in the second and third set," Shapovalov said. "But I just kept fighting for every point and I'm extremely happy with the way I handled myself today."

Did You Know?
Shapovalov saved the final seven break points he faced in the third set before seizing his first match point.

Denis Shapovalov w dwóch setach pokonał Milosa Raonicia w III rundzie rozgrywanego na kortach ziemnych turnieju ATP World Tour Masters 1000 w Madrycie. W ćwierćfinale Kanadyjczyk zagra z Kyle'em Edmundem, który w czwartek wygrał z Davidem Goffinem.

To był wielki mecz dla całego kanadyjskiego tenisa. W czwartkowe wczesne popołudnie w III rundzie turnieju ATP Masters 1000 w Madrycie doszło do pojedynku dwóch najlepszych tenisistów tego kraju. 27-letni Milos Raonić, aktualnie 24. gracz globu, finalista Wimbledonu 2016, zmierzył się z utalentowanym 19-latkiem, Denisem Shapovalovem, notowanym na 43. lokacie w rankingu singlistów. Z tej konfrontacji górą wyszedł ten niżej klasyfikowany.
Obaj od początku starali się grać agresywnie i ofensywnie. Ale to Shapovalov posiadał nieznaczną inicjatywę. Nastolatek prezentował bardziej urozmaicony tenis, lepiej spisywał się w wymianach z głębi kortu i skutecznie atakował przy siatce. Raonić swoje nadzieje pokładał w forhendzie i w serwisie.

Oba sety zakończyły się wynikiem 6:4 dla Shapovalova i miały niemal identyczny przebieg. Młodszy z reprezentantów Kanady przełamania zdobywał w gemach numer siedem, po czym utrzymywał przewagę do końca partii. Problemy miał jedynie w ostatnim gemie, w którym przegrywał już 0-30, ale skutecznie wybronił się z sytuacji zagrożenia.

Pojedynek trwał godzinę i 22 minuty. W tym czasie Shapovalov zaserwował pięć asów, ani razu nie został przełamany, wykorzystał dwa z sześciu break pointów, posłał 28 zagrań kończących, popełnił 17 niewymuszonych błędów i łącznie zdobył 63 punkty, o dziewięć więcej od rywala. Raoniciowi natomiast zapisano dziewięć asów oraz po 14 uderzeń wygrywających i pomyłek własnych.

Dla Kanadyjczyka to drugi w karierze awans do ćwierćfinału turnieju rangi ATP Masters 1000. Poprzednią 1/4 finału złotej serii zanotował przed rokiem w Montrealu. O półfinał powalczy z Kyle'em Edmundem. Brytyjczyk poszedł za ciosem po wyeliminowaniu Novaka Djokovicia i w czwartek sprawił kolejną niespodziankę, wygrywając 6:3, 6:3 z Davidem Goffinem. Ogrywając aktualnie dziesiątego w rankingu ATP Belga, 23-letni Edmund wywalczył drugie w karierze zwycięstwo nad rywalem z Top 10. W styczniu, w Australian Open, pokonał Grigora Dimitrowa, wówczas światową "trójkę".

W ćwierćfinale Mutua Madrid Open 2018 zameldował się już także Kevin Anderson. Rozstawiony z numerem szóstym Afrykaner wygrał 6:3, 7:6(7) z Philippem Kohlschreiberem, w drugiej partii broniąc dwóch piłek setowych. Dla Andersona, który podwyższył na 3-0 bilans pojedynków z Niemcem, to pierwszy ćwierćfinał imprezy Masters 1000 rozgrywanej na korcie ziemnym.

Mutua Madrid Open, Madryt (Hiszpania)
ATP World Tour Masters 1000, kort ziemny, pula nagród 6,2 mln euro
czwartek, 10 maja

III runda gry pojedynczej:

Kevin Anderson (RPA, 6) - Philipp Kohlschreiber (Niemcy) 6:3, 7:6(7)
Kyle Edmund (Wielka Brytania) - David Goffin (Belgia, 6:3, 6:3
Denis Shapovalov (Kanada) - Milos Raonić (Kanada) 6:4, 6:4

Shapovalov arrived in Spain without an ATP World Tour clay-court win
#NextGenATP Denis Shapovalov arrived at the Mutua Madrid Open without a clay-court match win on the ATP World Tour.

Yet, five days after taking the court at the Caja Mágica for the first time, the Canadian defeated British No. 1 Kyle Edmund 7-5, 6-7(6), 6-4 to advance to the semi-finals in Madrid, his second appearance in the final four of an ATP World Tour Masters 1000 event (also 2017 Montreal).


"I'm happy again to be in the semi-finals," Shapovalov said. "I never knew when my next time being in a semis would be. I'm more than thrilled to be there. Hopefully I can go even further."

One year ago this week, Shapovalov was the fifth-ranked Canadian, sitting at No. 186 in the ATP Rankings. But if he beats No. 2 seed Alexander Zverev or Miami champion John Isner in the semi-finals, he will become the Canadian No. 1 and soar to at least a career-high World No. 22, pending his result in the final.

Shapovalov, 19, was already the youngest quarter-finalist in the history of the event, breaking Rafael Nadal’s previous record. Now, he can become the youngest Masters 1000 finalist since 18-year-old Richard Gasquet finished runner-up in Hamburg 13 years ago. If the left-hander goes on to win Madrid, he will become the youngest champion at this level since 18-year-old Nadal won Rome in 2005.

But for a moment, it appeared his opportunity was gone. Shapovalov earned a match point on Edmund's serve at 6-5 Ad out in the second set. The World No. 43 went for glory, taking a big cut at a crosscourt forehand return, but it sailed wide. Then, he showed some nerves in the tie-break against Edmund, making a number of unforced errors to allow the Brit to force a decider.

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"As soon as the second set was done, I just told myself that it's in the past, let's just focus on the third, let's focus on every point this set," Shapovalov said. "I'm really proud of myself, the way I handled myself mentally."

Shapovalov showed great maturity, digging in at the beginning of the third set. At 1-1, the Canadian neutralised a first serve and then Edmund eventually missed a backhand long to give up the break of serve. And while Edmund, the recent Marrakech finalist and 2018 Australian Open semi-finalist, showed top-tier shotmaking ability, he was unable to maintain enough consistency in the decider, missing too many balls in an attempt to keep Shapovalov from taking control of the point.

"We have a really, really similar gamestyle. We both go big on the serves. We both love to dictate with the forehands. It's tricky to play Kyle. When he's on, I'm not seeing the ball at all," Shapovalov said. "I feel like every time we play, we have a thriller match. It's fun to be on the court with him."

When the Canadian earned another chance to close out the biggest clay-court match of his career, he made no mistake, holding to love with four sliding serves, finishing it off with a clean ace out wide.

Did You Know?
This time last year, #NextGenATP Canadian Denis Shapovalov was in the midst of a six-match losing streak, with none of those matches coming at tour-level.