Shapo carrying Great expectations
Canadian teen tennis star feeling right at home in Gretzky’s stall at Northlands
The eight-foot-high wooden umpire chair from February’s infamous implosion and monumental meltdown of Denis Shapovalov in Ottawa stood in the bowels of the Northlands Coliseum Tuesday.
If Shapovalov gave it a single glance, no one noticed.
The seat that held the interest of the 18-year-old tennis star was not in plain view. It was in the old Edmonton Oilers’ dressing room.
Shapovalov found Wayne Gretzky’s old stall and has made it his for the rest of the week.
“I stole it before anyone else could get it,” said the kid who got to know The Great One during this mystical, magical summer he hopes isn’t over yet.
“For me, it’s amazing to be here where Gretzky played for Edmonton and won his Stanley Cups. It’s unbelievable. You feel like you’re part of history. When I got on the court, it’s like you feel Wayne belongs here.
“It’s pretty cool actually being here after having a chance to know him, to know how humble he is and what a great guy he is. He’s definitely a huge role model of mine. It’s pretty amazing to walk around the dressing room where he was with the whole team.”
Shapovalov said Gretzky came along at the perfect time.
“When he was at the Rogers Cup, they asked him if he wanted to take a cart back and forth to get through the grounds, and he said he’d walk and sign autographs. He was really open to doing that.
“It was just awesome to see a champion like him just being so relaxed and so open to all the fans and everyone who admires him. You don’t get a better champion than him.
“It was sure inspiring to see that. Obviously, if I achieve anything in my career even close to what he’s achieved, I would love to be kind of the same person — really open to the fans and just a super humble guy.”
In the life of an 18-year-old, the nightmare involving that old wooden judge’s chair was a long time ago and followed by a whole lot of dream sequences.
And tennis is forgiving when it comes to the Davis Cup. Shapovalov gets a do-over with singles matches Friday and Sunday against India.
“For me, Ottawa is in the past. Sure, it’s another Davis Cup tie, but to me, it’s a long time ago and I’ve matured a lot from that time and I’m ready to play for my country again,” he said.
When it was suggested he could make a fabulous positive out of this now, Shapovalov had the perfect response.
“I think I already did.”
You get the idea. The young man refuses to put a ghost in that chair back in the Davis Cup.
“I don’t think about it any more. Obviously, some reporters are still bringing it up, like now, but I’ve put it in the past. I’m ready to move
It’s a long time ago and I’ve matured a lot from that time and I’m ready to play for my country again
on.”
One Ottawa writer called what Shapovalov did that day in February “boneheaded” and “moronic,” adding he “morphed into a spoiled brat.”
Shapovalov took out his frustration in Ottawa on a tennis ball and accidentally struck chair umpire Arnaud Gabas of France, breaking a bone in Gabas’ eye socket. The game and series were defaulted to Great Britain.
Six months later, the young man is now the toast of the tennis world for his 18-3 record since Wimbledon, for defeating Rafael Nadal at the Rogers Cup in Montreal, and for his run at the just-completed U.S. Open that included beating eighth-seed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga of France.
Shapovalov handled it all perfectly Tuesday as he made his re-entry to the Davis Cup scene, essentially declining to relive or return to his nightmare while continuing to live the dream.
“I think my life has changed quite drastically in the past few months in shooting up the rankings and stuff. It’s been a crazy month for me. But I’m happy to be announced on the team and happy to be part of the team.”
Overnight, Shapovalov has become a national celebrity. It’s decidedly different being “El Shapo” now.
“I think just getting recognized a lot more. It’s quite a change, just going around on the streets and at the airport and stuff like that. For me, it’s pretty cool.
“The best feeling is when little kids come up to you and ask you for a picture and they ’re a little bit nervous,” he said. “It’s inspiring for me. I was one of those kids not too long ago.”
Maybe by the end of this weekend everybody will not only know his name, they’ll know how to pronounce it.
“It’s a tough name to say when you see it on paper. A lot of people just call me Shapo. When you say Shapo, that’s half the battle already. The rest of it is just ‘ Valov,’” he said with a laugh.