Shapovalov earns spot in U.S. Open main draw
Canadian teen victorious in final qualifying match
Rising Canadian tennis star Denis Shapovalov will play in the main draw of the U.S. Open.
The 18-year-old from Richmond Hill, Ont., beat Jan Satral of the Czech Republic, 6-7 (2), 6-1, 6-3, in Friday’s third-round qualifying match to clinch his spot in next week’s action.
The 69th-ranked Shapovalov was seeded second in the qualifying draw thanks to his thrilling performance at the Rogers Cup in Montreal that saw him dispatch both Rafael Nadal and Juan Martin del Potro en route to a semifinal appearance.
Shapovalov will be participating in his first U.S. Open and second career Grand Slam after qualifying for the Wimbledon main draw earlier this year. He will join Eugenie Bouchard of Montreal and Vancouver’s Vasek Pospisil in the main draw.
Bouchard will open the tournament against No. 83 Evgeniya Rodina of Russia in next week’s main draw. Bouchard, ranked No. 74, arrives at the U.S. Open after reaching the second round at the WTA Premier event in New Haven, Conn. The draw conducted Friday has the Canadian, once ranked No. 5 in the world, potentially facing the tournament’s fourth seed Elina Svitolina in the second round.
Pospisil will face world No. 42 Fernando Verdasco of Spain when he plays in his second straight Grand Slam main draw. Pospisil, who is ranked No. 78, reached a career-high ranking of No. 25 in 2014. Pospisil is in the same quarter of the draw as Roger Federer.
World No. 11 Milos Raonic of Thornhill, Ont., was forced to withdraw from the final Grand Slam event of the year after having surgery on his wrist.
No other Canadians qualified for the main draw.
Meanwhile, there will be no easing into the U.S. Open for Maria Sharapova, whose first match at a major tournament since her doping suspension comes against No. 2 seed Simona Halep.
The draw also eliminated the possibility of a men’s final between Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal by placing them on the same side of the bracket. They could face each other in the semifinals at the U.S. Open, the only major tournament where they have never met headto-head. Play begins Monday. Nadal is seeded No. 1 in New York for the first time since 2010; Federer is No. 3. They have faced off 37 times, including 12 times at the other majors — most recently the Australian Open in January, when Federer edged Nadal in five sets.
Nadal won his record 10th French Open trophy in June, and Federer won his record eighth Wimbledon title in July. Federer owns a record 19 Grand Slam championships; Nadal ranks second among men with 15.
The other semifinal could be No. 2 Andy Murray vs. No. 4 Alexander Zverev.
Much of the buzz Friday was about Sharapova’s showdown against Halep, a two-time French Open runner-up. The U.S. Tennis Association awarded a wild card to Sharapova, who is ranked 147th after returning from a 15-month doping suspension in April.
Sharapova is a former No. 1 with a career Grand Slam; her five major championships include the 2006 U.S. Open. She was banned from the tour after testing positive for the newly banned drug meldonium at the 2016 Australian Open.