SHAPOVALOV PICKS UP WIN DESPITE COURT CHANGE
Canadian star frustrated after match moved to smaller venue at Rogers Cup
First, another emphatic victory for Denis Shapovalov at the Rogers Cup. Then, an apology from the 19-year-old star.
Bouts of rain played havoc with the schedule on Wednesday and Shapovalov, originally slated to play Fabio Fognini on centre court, was pushed to the grand stand court, which has a smaller capacity.
In a fit of pique, Shapovalov sarcastically tweeted “Got moved to grand stand” followed by an emoji of clapping hands and #welldone and #homeevent. The tweet wasn’t up long, as Shapovalov deleted it soon after.
The location of Shapovalov’s match didn’t matter, as he beat Fognini 6-3, 7-5 to advance to the third round.
“First of all, I just want to apologize to the fans and friends that weren’t able to see me (play),” said Shapovalov, who had said on Tuesday that he wanted to put on a show in the tournament for his fans. “I just know how many friends wanted to come out and how many fans were looking forward to seeing me on centre court this week. And, unfortunately, with the rain delay, it got moved to grand stand. So it was a little bit disappointing in that sense.
“But the crowd on grand stand, I think it helped me a lot because it was so ecstatic, so energetic because it’s so compact, that it actually bothered Fognini quite a bit, especially toward the end. It worked in my favour.”
There was frustration for Fognini, who had some words for Shapovalov during one changeover. Later, Shapovalov told reporters he didn’t know what was said.
Shapovalov, ranked No. 26 in the world, had to dig in against the No. 14 Fognini after going down 0-4 in the second set.
“It was extremely satisfying to win that set, not having to go into a third set.”
Shapovalov will take on Robin Haase of the Netherlands, ranked No. 39 in the world, on Thursday.
Shapovalov acknowledged the tweet he had sent during the day, saying “it came out the wrong way, which is why I deleted it.”
But the crowd on grand stand, I think it helped me a lot because it was so ecstatic, so energetic.
BAD AND GOOD FOR MILOS
Milos Raonic got through without so much as a physical scratch. And to hear Raonic tell it after he was eliminated in the second round on Wednesday night, his early ouster wasn’t going to keep him staring at the ceiling well into the wee hours.
“I’ll be fine in an hour,” Raonic said after he lost 7-6 (4), 4-6, 6-1 to Frances Tiafoe of the United States at the Aviva Centre. “It’s, what, 30 minutes after the match? So give it some time.
“Obviously, it’s disappointing to not do the things I wanted to do well and sort of feel like I might have handed it to him a little bit too much. That’s the most disappointing part.”
The 27-year-old Thornhill, Ont., native had to be happy simply with getting out of the tournament with no further injury. It was his first outing since he injured his right leg at Wimbledon.
“Yeah, it’s nice to get through — it’s a little bit sad to say two matches,” Raonic said. “I guess if I’m looking for the good things, that’s one of them.”
POLANSKY’S LUCK
Life as a lucky loser hasn’t been terribly bad for Peter Polansky. Still, the Thornhill native wouldn’t mind changing his luck just a bit for the U.S. Open, which gets underway later this month in New York.
Polansky this year set an Open Era record, becoming the first man to gain entry in the main draw of three Grand Slams — Wimbledon, the Australian Open and the French Open — as a lucky loser, the tag given to a player who loses in qualifying but is given a spot in a tournament when another player withdraws.
“I kind of want to get in directly (to the U.S. Open, the final Grand Slam this season), but a small, a very small part of me wants to get in as a lucky loser and make history ( by winning it),” Polansky said with a laugh. “I would say I’m a little bit lucky, but at the same time I’ve had to put myself in that position to get into the last round of qualifying consistently every single time and also being one of the higher-ranked players losing. I’ve given myself a chance. That’s all you can ask for.”
Polansky lost 6-3, 6-4 to Novak Djokovic.
In other matches, Alexander Zverev (2) defeated Bradley Klahn 6-4, 6-4, while No. 1 seed Rafael Nadal beat Benoit Paire of France, 6-2, 6-3.