mtenis.com.pl

The Canadian begins his Stuttgart campaign Tuesday against Gunneswaran
#NextGenATP Canadian Denis Shapovalov, who will pursue his first ATP World Tour title this week at the MercedesCup as the No.6 seed, was recently featured by GQ Magazine.
The left-hander could potentially face Roger Federer for the first time in the Stuttgart quarter-finals. In the feature, the teenager recalls his epic match against Rafael Nadal at last year’s Rogers Cup:
In the third set tie-break against Nadal, Shapovalov was exhausted and in pain. “I thought, Hey, just remember you can be out here with these guys, you can’t win yet, but you can fight, you can push them until the end. On match point, I thought, screw it, let me go for the down-the-line and see what happens. If I make it, I’ll win. If I don’t, I’ll probably lose the match.” Shapovalov made it, notching the biggest win of his young career. “I blacked out after that. The stadium was so loud. My ears almost popped. It was the loudest thing I’ve ever heard in any sport event ever.”
Shapovalov’s game is a high-wire act, risky and elegant. Every swing of his racket is full, unchecked. He hits his lefty, one-handed backhand so hard that it launches his feet off the ground. He flies. He’s fast and chases down every ball with the ferocious energy reminiscent of a young Nadal. But the way he skips across the court, skimming the surface, seeking out every offensive opportunity, is a style of play clearly inspired by his favorite player, Federer.
“Growing up, I would always come forward and play aggressive, and my opponents would just lob over me and hit shots past me. My mom [who is also his coach] was constantly telling me, ‘Don’t worry, one day you’ll grow and you’ll be able to get these balls. Keep coming to the net, keep being aggressive.’ So a lot of my style came from my mom.”

Less than a year ago, Borna Coric advanced to the semi-finals of the inaugural Next Gen ATP Finals. And while due to his age, the 21-year-old is no longer considered a #NextGenATP player, the Croatian made waves in the tennis world on Sunday when he defeated nine-time champion Roger Federer to triumph at the Gerry Weber Open.

Another 2017 Milan qualifier, #NextGenATP Canadian Denis Shapovalov, was not surprised.

“They are all human. They have all been beaten before. Obviously they are legends at this game, at this sport, to be where they are at at their age,” Shapovalov said. “But at the end of the day, it's a sport and they can lose, anyone can lose on a given day. Borna's had a really good year, has played some unbelievable tennis.

“It wasn't that big of a shocker to me that he beat Roger. Obviously it's always tough to beat a guy at that level, but like I said, Borna has been playing unbelievable tennis this year, so I'm happy for him.”

>

If anything, Coric’s win motivates Shapovalov, as does all of the success current #NextGenATP players have. #NextGenATP Greek Stefanos Tsitsipas, for example, has beaten five players inside the Top 20 of the ATP Rankings in 2018, helping him climb nearly 60 spots since the beginning of the year to a career-best No. 35.

“It motivates the rest of us to keep working harder, try to do what Borna did last week, try to improve, try to get good results,” said Shapovalov, who is the No. 3 seed at the Nature Valley International. “I feel like that's kind of been the trend nowadays. One guy has some success and then you see another guy coming up and it's just kind of motivating each other to do better, and I feel like it's going to keep going like this.”

Watch Live

In a way, it’s a glimpse into the future for the #NextGenATP stars. Four #NextGenATP players are currently inside the Top 35 of the ATP Rankings.

“Even though they are so dominant at the sport, it's something that we have the potential to do,” Shapovalov said. “It's honestly pretty cool to have a group of young guys like this with such talent and such a high level coming up together.”

Shapovalov, the 2016 Wimbledon Boys’ Singles champion, will now look to make his own mark on the grass in Eastbourne. After reaching the semi-finals in Madrid and Delray Beach, the World No. 26 seeks his first ATP World Tour title. And while he holds just a 1-4 tour-level record on the surface, he feels it suits his game well.

“I feel like I have a pretty aggressive game style, big-serving. I like to come to the net, so that kind of suits the grass,” Shapovalov said. “I feel like potentially in a couple of years it's going to be a really good surface for me.”

The 19-year-old left-hander will begin his campaign against another 2017 Next Gen ATP Finals qualifier, Jared Donaldson. And while it was Coric who shone brightly last week, he hopes that now, it is his turn.

“I feel like my game is really coming along,” Shapovalov said. “I feel pretty ready for this week. Hopefully I can do some damage at this tournament. That would be great.”

Americans Tiafoe and Paul also advance in Washington
Denis Shapovalov and Stefanos Tsitsipas are through to the third round of the Citi Open after battling back from the brink to keep their rain-delayed Washington campaigns alive on Wednesday. Ninth seed Shapovalov, in third place in the ATP Race to Milan, recovered from 1-4 down in the third set to deny 22-year-old Russian Daniil Medvedev 3-6, 6-1, 6-4.

The 19-year-old Canadian, contesting his first match since a second-round Wimbledon exit, fired 15 aces to Medvedev’s two and claimed 41 of 47 points on his first serve. The win sets up a third-round encounter with seventh seed Kei Nishikori.

ATP Race To Milan

Tsitsipas, in second place in the ATP Race to Milan, teetered even closer to defeat as he fought off two match points against American Jared Donaldson to prevail 3-6, 6-3, 7-5. Donaldson had broken to serve for the match at 5-4 in the third set, only to concede the final three games to the Greek. Tsitsipas will meet Australian James Duckworth in the third round.

"It was a tough match. Jared is a fighter and gave me a really hard time," Tsitsipas said. "In certain moments I was a little more patient, had a clear mind of what I was doing and managed to stay in the rally, play aggressive, play deep enough to get my opportunities. My return was super important today. Jared is a huge server and my return was the thing that gave me the win."

You May Also Like: Murray Marches On In D.C., Earns Biggest Win Of Comeback
No. 13 seed Frances Tiafoe won an all-#NextGenATP clash against Poland’s Hubert Hurkacz 6-2, 6-4. Tiafoe, in fourth place in the ATP Race to Milan, struck 10 aces and saved four of five break points. He will next meet third seed David Goffin for a place in the quarter-finals.

#NextGenATP American wild card Tommy Paul survived Australian qualifier Alex Bolt 3-6, 7-6(0), 6-2 in a first-round match held over due to rain. On double duty, the 21-year-old World No. 256 is currently locked in an all-#NextGenATP third-round clash with Andrey Rublev. The 20-year-old Russian is currently No. 8 in the ATP Race To Milan.

Earlier, inaugural Next Gen ATP Finals champion Hyeon Chung also advanced. The South Korean rebounded to deny Cypriot Marcos Baghdatis 6-7(2), 6-4, 6-3 and will meet either American No. 11 seed Steve Johnson or #NextGenATP Australian Alex de Minaur.

One year after his breakthrough week in Montreal, Denis Shapovalov is eyeing more success on home soil in Toronto
It was as improbable as it was captivating. We all remember Denis Shapovalov's mesmerising run to the Rogers Cup semi-finals last year in Montreal.

With the home faithful spurring on the #NextGenATP Canadian, he rose to the occasion. A dramatic three-set victory over Rafael Nadal thrust Shapovalov into the spotlight on one of the ATP World Tour's biggest stages. His infectious energy and fighting spirit captured the imaginations of many, as he became the youngest semi-finalist ever at a Masters 1000 tournament.

Boasting a lethal one-handed backhand, powerful forehand and blazing agility, Shapovalov's talents have grown immensely since that dream week in Montreal. From an unseeded wild card in 2017 to World No. 26 and a title contender in 2018, he credits a matured attitude to his impressive ascent.

"My experience has grown as a person and as a player," Shapovalov told the assembled media on Sunday. "I've been traveling the tour now for about a year, so I know a lot about how to be an athlete, dealing with the media and everything. As a person, I feel I've matured a lot. Definitely my game has improved a lot too and I am confident out there against anybody. I know I can beat anyone if I'm playing my game. No one is out of my league."

We all know Shapovalov's greatest Montreal memory, but what was his most memorable moment in Toronto? In his Rogers Cup debut in 2016, a then 17-year-old stunned Nick Kyrgios in the first round, but the Canadian points to another moment that he'll never forget.

Two years prior, Shapovalov had the opportunity to warm up Roger Federer ahead of his semi-final against Feliciano Lopez.

"Probably the best memory of mine was warming up Roger a couple years back, for his match against Feli Lopez. It was my first time as a hitting partner. Rafa pulled out of the tournament and I thought that I'm not going to get too many hits that week.

"All of a sudden Feli comes out and has a great week and drew Roger in the semis. I was playing Canadian Nationals that same day, so I was a little tight because I wanted to finish my match and warm him up. It was a whole crazy story. But that's probably my best memory, warming Roger up on Centre Court."


Shapovalov will open his Toronto campaign against familiar foe Jeremy Chardy, who he defeated in four sets last month at Wimbledon. A potential second-round meeting with either Los Cabos champion Fabio Fognini or Steve Johnson awaits. Top 10 stalwarts Juan Martin del Potro and John Isner also loom large in his quarter of the draw.

"It's definitely going to be another tough match," Shapovalov said of his impending Chardy rematch. "At Wimbledon, it was really tight, but I got the better of him. I feel fairly confident going into this match. I have the home crowd and I always tend to play my best when I'm here. I'm just feeling confident with my game right now and hopefully I play well. I'll fight for every point."

You May Also Like: #NextGenATP Shapovalov Featured In GQ
In addition to singles, Shapovalov will have the opportunity to take to the doubles court with close friend and fellow #NextGenATP Canadian Felix Auger-Aliassime. The 2015 US Open junior doubles winners will open against third seeds and defending champions Pierre-Hugues Herbert and Nicolas Mahut.

"The main reason I wanted to play doubles this week was because of Felix. He's a really good buddy of mine. We don't get many chances to play together, so I'm really happy to be back on the court with him. It's going to be really fun for me. Any chance I have to be on court with Felix is a pleasure. It's always fun. We're just going to go out there and enjoy ourselves. We have a tough first match, but I think we can win. The most important thing is to just enjoy ourselves."

#NextGen ATP Canadian books second round meeting with Fognini
It was deemed one of the greatest shocks in Rogers Cup history – World No. 143 #NextGenATP wild card Denis Shapovalov defeating top seed Rafael Nadal in the third round in 2017. Twelve months on, the pressure to back up that semi-final run is on and after a 6-1, 6-4 routing of Frenchman Jeremy Chardy on Tuesday, the now World No. 26 already looks up to it.

“Whenever I'm at home, I just seem to loosen up with the crowd,” Shapovalov said. “And I just enjoyed myself out there today. It was really fun to be on that centre court with so many people watching.

"It was one of those matches where everything was kind of feeling good for me. So it's a really good feeling and hopefully it continues.”

At one stage, the 19-year-old took 10 consecutive points in the opening set of the first-round clash, and despite missing a set point on Chardy’s serve for a bagel set, Shapovalov secured it in 26 minutes on a love hold. Chardy, who had fallen to the Canadian in their only prior FedEx ATP Head2Head meeting in the first round at Wimbledon this year, had his chances at 3-4 to peg back the break of serve in the second set but struggled against the relentless aggression from across the net.
“I was serving really well today,” Shapovalov said. “I've been working a lot with my mom on my serve, so today it shows huge improvement on it.

“She does a really good job of being my mom off court and giving me my space and loving me. While on the court she's tough and she keeps me disciplined and she's my coach. She's not my mom on court.”

You May Also Like: Djokovic Up And Running In Toronto
With his doubles partner and fellow #NextGenATP Canadian Felix Auger-Aliassime cheering him on, Shapovalov served out the contest at the 63-minute mark to set a second-round meeting with No. 14 seed Fabio Fognini. The Italian raced past American Steve Johnson, 6-4, 6-4.

Qualifier Evgeny Donskoy pulled off a 7-6(7), 6-4 first-round victory over his fellow Russian, #NextGen ATP player Andrey Rublev. The 28-year-old’s win sets a showdown with No. 4 seed Kevin Anderson.

Donskoy was one of two Russians through on Tuesday. Karen Khachanov powered to a 6-3, 6-2 triumph over Serbia’s Filip Krajinovic to book a second-round clash with No. 12 seed Pablo Carreno Busta. In an all-American match, qualifier Ryan Harrison posted a 6-4, 6-2 victory over lucky loser Mackenzie McDonald. Harrison advances to face Belarusian qualifier Ilya Ivashka.

"It was a pretty tough match. It’s always hard to play against a friend," Donskoy said. "But I know that he was not in great shape after Washington. He was a little bit tired.

"He’s playing very well. He’s coming (back) from injury. I’m 100 per cent sure he’ll be better than he is now. I hope he will get better as much as possible. I’m cheering for him always. We’re supporting each other every time, so it’s sad to play each other. He’s a great guy."

Shapovalov's friend Auger-Aliassime falls just short of reaching the third round
#NextGenATP Canadian Denis Shapovalov continued to back up his Rogers Cup semi-final run of a year ago (l. to Zverev) on Wednesday with a 6-3, 7-5 upset of 14th seed Fabio Fognini of Italy. Fognini was coming off his first hard-court title at Los Cabos on Saturday (d. Del Potro).

You May Also Like: Tsitsipas' Hot Streak Now Claims Thiem
“I think my game is at a very high level right now. You know, last week, even though I lost to Kei, it was a really good match. And I was telling everyone, I'm playing well in practice. I'm feeling really good,” Shapovalov said. “I think having my mom on the side has really helped me the last couple weeks. I've really picked up my game. We've really worked on a couple of aspects that have helped me in the last couple of weeks.”

Watch Live

Shapovalov will next face Dutchman Robin Haase, who beat former World No. 8 Mikhail Youzhny in a rain-interrupted encounter 7-5, 6-2. Third-seeded Argentine Juan Martin del Potro, the 2009 finalist, withdrew ahead of his second-round match against Haase due to left wrist pain.

Del Potro, who underwent three left wrist surgeries in 2014 and 2015, was replaced by lucky loser Youzhny, who recently announced he will retire from professional tennis after the St. Petersburg Open in September.

Tennis Radio

Shapovalov is currently in good position to make a return trip to the Next Gen ATP Finals, to be held 6-10 November in Milan. The left-hander is in fourth place in the ATP Race To Milan. The top seven players in the Race will qualify automatically, while the eighth spot will be reserved for the winner of an all-Italian qualifier tournament to be held just prior to the prestigious 21-and-under event.

Alexander Zverev cast aside rain delays to get his title defence off on the right foot with a routine victory over American qualifier Bradley Klahn. Coming off the successful defence of his Citi Open title in Washington, D.C. the German No. 2 seed posted his sixth straight match win with an efficient 6-4, 6-4 victory over Klahn, No. 116 in the ATP Rankings.

ATP Race To Milan

Such was Zverev’s dominance on serve he dropped just one point on his first serve in the second set. It came when he had three match points on serve, but he quickly closed it out on his second chance to book a third-round meeting with Russian qualifier Daniil Medvedev, who held off #NextGenATP Canadian Felix Auger-Aliassime 3-6, 6-4, 7-6(7) in a match that finished just after midnight on Thursday morning.

“It’s not easy coming from Washington with a lot of heat, especially playing here at night, the court is a lot quicker,” Zverev said. “He played very well, very aggressive, serving I thought really well. I was just happy to break him once in each set.”

Zverev leads his FedEx ATP Head2Head series with Medvedev 3-0, including a three-setter earlier this year in Miami. Auger-Aliassime, who turned 18 on Wednesday, was trying to become the youngest player to post two wins at an ATP World Tour Masters 1000 event since Rafael Nadal at 2004 Miami and the youngest to do so at the Rogers Cup since Mats Wilander in 1982.

Reflecting on his tough loss, Augur-Aliassime admitted, “It was special from beginning to end. [At the end] maybe I didn't put as much first serve, to keep holding my serve, to keep my break alive. But I think he stayed very solid. Credit is to him. In the tie-break, I was feeling good… It slipped away out of my hands.”

Canadian will next face 14th seed Edmund
Denis Shapovalov got his revenge against Frances Tiafoe in a battle of #NextGenATP stars on Monday at the Western & Southern Open, defeating the American 7-6(6), 3-6, 7-5 to reach the second round in Cincinnati.

Just six months ago, Tiafoe prevented the Canadian from reaching his first ATP World Tour final, beating Shapovalov in the semi-finals of the Delray Beach Open en route to his maiden championship. But at the ATP World Tour Masters 1000 event in Ohio, it was the left-handed 19-year-old who prevailed, coming back from down a late break in the third set to advance to a meeting against 14th seed Kyle Edmund.


Shapovalov did not quite match his 2017 semi-final magic at the Rogers Cup last week, but showed good tennis to beat in-form Frenchman Jeremy Chardy and Los Cabos champion Fabio Fognini, both in straight sets. He has reached a career-high in the ATP Rankings 11 times this season, peaking at No. 23 on 11 June. Shapovalov will have a chance to climb higher than his current spot at No. 32 depending on his results on debut in Cincinnati, as he did not compete this week in 2017, and thus has no points to defend.

It has been a tremendous rise for the teenager, who 53 weeks ago was World No. 143. But he has not been defined by his run to the last four in Montreal one year ago. Instead, Shapovalov has continued to get better, qualifying for the 2017 Next Gen ATP Finals. And this year, he is No. 3 in the ATP Race To Milan, putting himself in good position to compete at the 21-and-under event again.

Watch Live

For a moment, it appeared Shapovalov would not get to face Edmund, who reached this year's Australian Open semi-finals. Tiafoe, who is No. 5 in the Race, broke the Canadian at 4-4 in the decider when Shapovalov missed in the net. But the American could not serve out the match, getting broken in his final two service games to fall after two hours, 20 minutes.

Shapovalov has already played Edmund five times in their FedEx ATP Head2Head series, leading 3-2, despite the pair only being 19 and 23, respectively. The Canadian triumphed in their most recent meeting at the Mutua Madrid Open earlier this season.

Tennis Radio

Second seed Roger Federer knows that he will face Peter Gojowczyk in his first match since Wimbledon, as the German beat Portugal's Joao Sousa 2-6, 6-4, 7-5. World No. 6 Kevin Anderson, who also has a bye, will play Frenchman Jeremy Chardy, who beat Spanish veteran Fernando Verdasco 6-1, 6-2, in the second round.

While red-hot #NextGenATP Greek and Rogers Cup finalist Stefanos Tsitsipas will play 11th seed David Goffin on Tuesday, the winner's second-round opponent has already been decided. It will be Frenchman Benoit Paire, who sent former World No. 3 David Ferrer to his fourth straight loss with a 6-2, 6-2 triumph.

#NextGenATP Canadian to challenge Raonic or Jaziri

Denis Shapovalov completed day three play at the Western & Southern Open with a highly entertaining second-round victory over British No. 14 seed Kyle Edmund. The Canadian recorded his 25th match win of the season, but didn’t have things all his own way in a 6-4, 7-5 win over one hour and 52 minutes on Tuesday night.


Shapovalov was aggressive on return, with his backhand return often putting Edmund on the defensive in their sixth FedEx ATP Head2Head meeting of the past 18 months (Shapovalov leads 4-2). Edmund rallied from 0-4 down in second set, saved a match point on his own serve at 4-5 and then saved another three at 5-6, before Shapovalov converted his fifth match point opportunity with backhand volley.

Watch Two Shapovalov Hot Shots



The 19-year-old Shapovalov will now challenge fellow Canadian Milos Raonic, the 2014 and 2016 semi-finalist, or Malek Jaziri, a lucky loser from Tunisia. Raonic knocked out Serbian qualifier Dusan Lajovic 6-3, 6-3 in the first round earlier in the day. Shapovalov beat Raonic 6-4, 6-4 in the Mutua Madrid Open third round in May and has never met Jaziri.

Elsewhere, Germany’s Mischa Zverev will play fifth seed and defending champion Grigor Dimitrov in the second round after knocking out Damir Dzumhur of Bosnia and Herzegovina 6-3, 6-4.