Raonic win in Cincinnati sets up all-Canadian showdown with Shapovalov
CINCINNATI — Denis Shapovalov was victorious the first time he played fellow Canadian Milos Raonic on the ATP World Tour. The veteran will soon get a chance to avenge that loss.
The top two players in the Canadian men’s singles rankings are set to square off today at the Masters 1000 tournament in Cincinnati. Shapovalov booked his third-round ticket with a win over Britain’s Kyle Edmund on Tuesday night while Raonic advanced Wednesday with a 6-3, 7-5 win over Tunisian lucky loser Malek Jaziri.
“I’ve watched him for so many years representing Canada so any chance I get to play him and take him on, it’s a privilege for me,” Shapovalov told the ATP after his win. “So I’m going to go out there and enjoy myself, kind of like I did in Madrid, and hopefully I can play as well.”
Shapovalov posted a 6-4, 6-4 victory over Raonic last May on clay in their lone head-to-head competitive meeting. The 19-year-old from Richmond Hill, Ont., won almost 80 per cent of his first-serve points, calling the win a “huge confidence boost.”
Shapovalov moved ahead of Raonic to become the Canadian No. 1 for a few months before losing the position this week.
Raonic, 27, held steady at No. 29 in the latest world rankings while Shapovalov slid six spots to No. 32 after losing the points gained from last year’s semifinal appearance at the Rogers Cup in Montreal.
The two players offer an interesting contrast in styles. Shapovalov is a flashy left-hander who can be quite demonstrative on court while Raonic, a big-hitting right-hander, prefers a more composed approach.
Raonic, from Thornhill, Ont., has won eight career titles since turning pro a decade ago. He reached the final four at the 2016 Australian Open and made it to the Wimbledon final later that season.
“He showed the way for the next generation because Milos was [world] No. 3, in a final of a Grand Slam and in [Slam] semifinals,” Tennis Canada vicepresident of high performance Louis Borfiga said in a recent interview. “He’s had an incredible impact for the young generation.
“Milos is very, very important for the success of Canadian tennis.”
Shapovalov, who’s still looking for his first career ATP Tour win, leads a solid crop of young domestic tennis talent that includes Felix Auger-Aliassime, Francoise Abanda, Bianca Andreescu and others.