National Post (National Edition)
Shapovalov earns spot in U.S. Open main draw
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 Westmount, Que., 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, Dominic Thiem and Juan Martin del Potro.
World No. 11 Milos Raonic of Thornhill, Ont., was forced to withdraw from the final Grand Slam event of the year after undergoing surgery on his wrist, an injury that kept him out of the Masters 1000 tournament in Cincinnati earlier this month.
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-seeded 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 head-to-head. Play begins Monday. Nadal is seeded No. 1 in New York for the first time since 2010; Federer is No. 3. They have played 37 times, including 12 at the other majors — most recently the Australian Open in January, when Federer edged Nadal in five sets.