Shapovalov hasafan in Canada’s doubles master
Nestor impressed with teen’s power and athleticism
Doubles great Daniel Nestor has had a first-hand look at the star power of fellow Canadian Denis Shapovalov.
They have been Davis Cup teammates, occasional practice partners and they even teamed up on the doubles court. Nestor, well into his third decade on the ATP World Tour, has been wowed by the teenager from Richmond Hill, Ont.
“He has so much firepower and athleticism,” Nestor said. “I’m in awe just from hitting with him. This guy is going only in one direction.”
Shapovalov broke out last season and has been on a steady rise up the world rankings. The 19-yearold sits at No. 26 and will lead Canadian hopes in singles play with 32nd-ranked Milos Raonic of Thornhill, Ont., starting Monday at Wimbledon.
Raonic is the 13th seed at the AllEngland Club while Shapovalov is 26th. Grand Slam events are given leeway to stray from the world rankings if desired.
Shapovalov will face the 46thranked Jeremy Chardy of France in the first round and could face Scotsman and former world No. 1 Andy Murray — who is coming off an 11-month injury absence — in the second round. Raonic opens against Liam Broady of Britain. Unseeded Vasek Pospisil of Vancouver takes on Mikhail Kukushkin of Kazakhstan.
A fourth Canadian man — Peter Polansky of Thornhill — got into the main draw Friday as a lucky loser when another player dropped out. He will battle Dennis Novak of Austria in the first round.
Eugenie Bouchard of Westmount, Que., advanced through the women’s singles qualifying draw and will face British wildcard Gabriella Taylor in her maindraw opener at the July 2-15 event.
Nestor, who received a wild-card doubles entry with Austria’s Jurgen Melzer, said Shapovalov will be helped by gaining experience in big situations.
“He has the best possible problems with his game,” Nestor said. “He has so much ability that he has to almost hold back and try to control his abilities because he has so much power and explosiveness. I think it’s almost sometimes a detriment to him because he’s overdoing it.
“He doesn’t have to do so much to win matches. That’s not a bad problem to have.”
It can be easy to forget Shapovalov is still adjusting to life on the ATP World Tour. He was primarily playing lower-level ITF and Challenger tour events leading up to Wimbledon last season.
Ottawa’s Gabriela Dabrowski, meanwhile, has emerged as a force on the doubles scene. She is seeded sixth in women’s doubles with China’s Yifan Xu. They face American Alison Riske and Olga Savchuk of Ukraine in the first round.
The mixed doubles draw will be released Wednesday. Dabrowski and Mate Pavic of Croatia won the Australian Open this year and reached the final at the French Open.
Nestor and Melzer face sixth seeds Alexander Peya of Austria and Nikola Mektic of Croatia in the opening round of men’s doubles. Pospisil and American Ryan Harrison square off with Germans Philipp Petzschner and Tim Puetz.