Shapovalov — from villain to sensation
Denis Shapovalov became the youngest man in 10 years to reach the US Open third round on Wednesday and credited his breakthrough to being defaulted from a Davis Cup tie for firing a ball into an umpire’s eye.
The 18-year-old Canadian qualifier stunned French eighth seed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga 6-4 6-4 7-6 (7/3), a victory that followed a win over Rafael Nadal in Montreal earlier in August.
He goes on to face Britain’s Kyle Edmund on Friday for a place in the last 16.
However, it will be a matchup that brings back painful memories of the pair’s meeting in the Davis Cup in February, when Shapovalov was defaulted for hitting a ball at umpire Arnaud Gabas.
The Canadian youngster was fined $7,000 for the incident even though it was deemed to be unintentional. Despite the official escaping serious injury, Shapovalov was disqualified and Britain won the tie.
But, he believes the controversy has helped fire him into the tennis headlines for the right reasons. “I’ve been working extremely hard on it. It’s definitely helped me mature,” said the world No 69. “I continue to apologise for my actions. It’s something I have to live with.”
Shapovalov is the youngest man in the third round of a Grand Slam since Bernard Tomic at the 2011 Australian Open and at the US Open since Donald Young in 2007.