Match made in Canada all Shapovalov
Teen upsets idol Raonic in first career meeting, Britain’s Edmund next
Milos Raonic was a huge influence on Denis Shapovalov during the Canadian teenager’s formative years in the sport.
On Thursday, the youngster showed his tennis idol that he’s ready to join him among the sport’s elite.
Shapovalov defeated Raonic 6-4, 6-4 in third-round play at the Madrid Open, completing their first-ever ATP World Tour meeting in one hour, 22 minutes.
“He’s such a legend in our country,” Shapovalov said. “I mean he’s been dominating the sport in our country and in the world. I’ve always looked up to him.
“To beat a guy like that, it’s a huge confidence booster for me. Hopefully I can take that going forward.”
Raonic, from Thornhill, Ont., is currently ranked 24th in the world, 19 positions higher than Shapovalov.
Raonic is a former world No. 3 who is trying to return to form after battling injuries in recent seasons. The 27-year-old has eight career titles on his resume and reached the Wimbledon final in 2016.
Shapovalov, from Richmond Hill, is coming off a break- through season that saw him reach the semifinal at the Rogers Cup — knocking off topseeded Rafael Nadal along the way — and rocket up the rankings.
He will now face world No. 22 Kyle Edmund of Britain, a 6-3, 6-3 winner over 10th-ranked David Goffin of Belgium. Edmund defeated former No. 1 Novak Djokovic in straight sets a day earlier.
Shapovalov picked up a service break on Raonic in the first set and did it again in the sec- ond.
“The match felt like everything kind of went great, went my way,” he said. “I was guessing a lot the right way on the serves. When I got my racquet on them, usually they’re falling in. There’s nothing to criticize about my performance today.”
The 19-year-old Canadian has split his four career meetings with Edmund. This will be their first head-to-head matchup on clay.
“Obviously I think this is just an extreme bonus for me to be in the quarters of a Masters, especially on this surface,” Shapovalov said.
“I never expected to get this far. But yeah, I think still I’m learning on this surface. I’m learning every day. Regardless of how I do this week, I’m going to keep grinding, keep working away.”
In other matches, top-ranked Simona Halep lost to Karolina Pliskova 6-4, 6-3 in women’s quarterfinal play. Halep was the two-time defending champion .
Seventh-seeded Caroline Garcia also advanced to the final four after beating Carla Suarez Navarro 6-2, 6-3.