Born in Israel, Shapovalov won junior boys' Wimbledon in 2016
By
Mark Schadenberg
You
must rise to the occasion.
If
you want to beat the best in the world at any sport . . . You must rise to the
occasion.
Denis
Shapovalov of Toronto (Richmond Hill / Vaughan area) advanced last night
(Thursday) to the quarterfinals of the Rogers Cup event in ATP tennis with the
Great One (Wayne Gretzky) in the crowd as a fan of this up-and-coming Canadian
tennis star.
There
was another Great One in the old Montreal Expos Jarry Park stadium and that was
world No 2 ranked Rafael Nadal, who surprisingly lost the third round match to
the current 143rd ranked player (His career best is No. 130 last
month) in Shapovalov in three sets – 3-6, 6-4, 7-6.
Wow!
There
are only 8 players left at the Rogers Cup in Montreal, which is a very important
ATP Tour event as the schedule quickly approaches the U.S. Open.
Shapovalov is the youngest player in the quarters at this event since Bjorn Borg back in 1974.
Shapovalov is the youngest player in the quarters at this event since Bjorn Borg back in 1974.
Shapovalov
is only 18 and the tennis world knows who he is, but now everyone knows who
this Canadian athlete is. Keep in mind, his 2017 record on the ATP Tour before
this week was just 1-5. (A win over England’s Kyle Edmund in the first round at
the Queen’s Cup which is an ATP sanctioned tuneup for Wimbledon)
In
the Round of 32 in Montreal, Shapovalov beat the No 31 ranked player Juan
Martin Del Potro of Argentina in
straight sets 6-3 7-6.
Shapovalov
is essentially competing in Montreal as a wildcard entry – likely only because
he’s Canadian. If you were to guess at which Canadian would be grabbing headlines
this week it would be Milos Raonic who is ranked No 10 in the world and was the
No 6 seed in this tourney. The 26-year-old Raonic lost in the Round of 32 to
Adrian Mannarino of France.
Among
the top players still competing in the final eight (quarterfinals) of the
Rogers Cup are No. 2 Roger Federer and No 4 Alexander Zverev.
Milos Raonic
Tennis Canada - logo
In
tennis you stay in your bracket throughout a tournament, in other words they do
not re-seed the players every round so the top player certainly does not play
the lowest remaining seed in the quarterfinals. Shapovalov’s next foe is
therefore actually Mannarino who is ranked No 42.
Denis
Shapovalov has already written an impressive resume for an 18-year-old, who was
actually born in Israel and only turned pro in 2016. On-line sources say he
moved to Canada as a baby.
Before
Thursday’s victory over Nadal, Shapovalov’s most important result was winning the
junior boys’ title at Wimbledon last year. He reached the junior semifinals of
the French Open in 2016. This year at the French Open he competed in the main
draw, but lost in the first round.
In
doubles, Shapovalov and fellow Canadian Felix Auger-Aliassime won the U.S. Open
junior boys’ crown in 2016.
Shapovalov
has represented Canada in Davis Cup playdowns and – you may recall – received headlines
and a suspension when he hit the chair umpire by directing a ball at him.
Earlier
this summer, he won an ATP Challenger tourney by defeating fellow Canadian
Peter Polansky in the finals in Gatineau, Que.
His
mom Tessa is listed on the ATP Tour biographies website of players as one of his coaches.
If you look at the Tennis Canada rankings, Shapovalov is still on the top of
the list of national U18 players (Born in 1999 or more recently).
Including
Shapovalov, Raonic, Polansky and world No 75 Vasek Pospisil, the Rogers Cup
included 14 Canadians with several losing in the first round of qualifying and
not actually reaching the main competition.
One
last note as we all cheer on Shapovalov at the Rogers Cup, on his Tennis Canada
profile he lists Connor McDavid as his favourite athlete, but the Maple Leafs
as his favourite sports team.
Rafael Nadal
LINKS:
www.atpworldtour.com
www.atpworldtour.com
http://montrealgazette.com/sports/rogers-cup-denis-shapovalov-cant-get-penny-oleksiak-to-play-tennis
https://www.theglobeandmail.com/sports/denis-shapovalov-the-next-big-thing-in-canadian-tennis/article30939687/
http://www.sportsnet.ca/tennis/shapovalovs-upset-nadal-historic-ways-one/
www.milosraonicofficial.comhttp://www.sportsnet.ca/tennis/shapovalovs-upset-nadal-historic-ways-one/
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