Former U.Va. player knocks off ’21 semifinalist in second round
Former Virginia Cavaliers tennis player Brandon Nakashima found his way to the round of 32 at Wimbledon, upending No. 13 seed Denis Shapovalov, a 2021 semifinalist, 6-2, 4-6, 6-1, 7-6 (8-6) on Thursday.
Nakashima, 20, who grew up in San Diego and turned pro in late 2019, equaled his Grand Slam career best by reaching the third round and is ranked a lifetime-high 54th in the world.
He’ll next face 109th-ranked Daniel Galan of Colombia, who advanced via walkover when No. 17 seed Roberto Bautista Agut of Spain withdrew because of COVID-19.
Listed as high as No. 4 in the junior world rankings before coming to Charlottesville, Nakashima spent just one semester at U.Va. He made good use of it, becoming the 2019 ACC Rookie of the Year, an all-conference first-team player and the Rookie of the Year in the state and Mid-Atlantic Region.
He was 17-5 in singles and 20-3 in doubles, finishing the spring ranked 64th in singles and as part of the 11th-ranked tandem.
As Nakashima has matured, he has climbed the ATP chart, though this year’s Wimbledon will not count in the rankings as players from Russia and Belarus were excluded by Great Britain’s Lawn Tennis Association because of the war against Ukraine.
In the first round Nakashima ousted Germany’s Nicola Kuhn 6-3, 6-7 (1-7), 6-3, 6-2 to gain momentum before knocking off Shapovalov, a 23-year-old who has been ranked as high as No. 10 in the world but fell to 1-7 in his past eight matches with Thursday’s defeat. The Canadian left-hander broke his racket over his foot after match point.
Nakashima also reached the French Open third round this year, and he smoothly transitioned from clay to the different style required for faster grass-court play.