El Shapo shows no fear
Teenage phenom Shapovalov wins over New York City fans
Nothing to lose.
That’s been Denis Shapovalov’s mantra through these past few rollicking weeks of tennis.
Which is of course not true because losing is anathema to elite athletes. But allow the 18-year-old his little fictitious coping mechanism.
Because, in truth, there hasn’t been a whole lot o’ losses across August — a semifinal defeat to ultimate champion Alexander Zverev at the Rogers Cup in Montreal, where the rising stud really made his chops, dumping top seed Rafael Nadel and 2009 U.S. Open victor Juan Martin del Potro in the process. Now El Shapo is undefeated at Flushing Meadows. Yeah, yeah. Just one match, Round of 128. With a main court tall challenge in eighth-seeded Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, 32, looming straight ahead.
“If it goes five, I feel ready for that,” he assured.
But the new darling of Canadian tennis broke his U.S. Open maiden on Monday afternoon with an utter demolition of 21-year-old Daniil Medvedev, ranked No. 54 in the world.
The Russian, bracketed within the Next Gen slate of racquet-swingers, was thoroughly rattled and discomposed by his upstart lefty opponent, who only matriculated into the main draw after grinding through three qualifier matches last week.
That’s a lot of tennis in a short period, especially coming off the draining emotional high of Montreal. Yet Shapovalov didn’t look remotely fatigued, which is a gift of youth, showing superb court movement on those muscular Nadal-like legs. He broke Medvedev seven times, including a break-to-love with ace exclamation point to take the middle frame — that had him skipping merrily to his chair in the cross-over — in a straight-set triumph, 7-5, 6-1, 6-2.
A sellout crowd on Court 7 was clearly behind the golden boy Canadian.
“I played some really good tennis, just having a great time on the court,” Shapovalov told Mark Masters of TSN. “It was really fun with this atmosphere. I’m so thankful to everyone that came out today and have been coming out through the qualifying to support me. It means a lot and it helps me play my best tennis.”
Motivated and inspired is how the teen described himself, at this wondrous apogee of his very early professional career, just a year and a bit removed from copping the junior title at Wimbledon.
He hasn’t been playing like a tour neophyte, rocketing up the rankings postMontreal to world No. 69, guaranteed at least another 35 points off the qualies in Queens and $50,000 richer from his opening-round win.
The Open is only his second Grand Slam, after qualifying for Wimbledon earlier this year. Going through qualifying matches actually helped — it kept him motivated, he said, and winning those matches “gave me extra confidence.” Which he’ll need in the Tsonga tilt. “Jo-Wilfried is an incredible player so it’s going to be a very difficult match,” Shapovalov acknowledged to TSN. “I grew up watching him play . . . For me there’s nothing to lose. I mean, I’m playing against a guy who’s been on tour for so long. I’m just expecting a good match and a good fight. I think it’s going to be really fun.”
Not fun every single minute, of course.
Shapovalov earned a teensy bit of notoriety on the resumé for inadvertently whacking the chair umpire in the eye during Davis Cup play in Ottawa in February — he had smashed the ball in anger and whoops — but, versus Medvedev, he was up against a far more delinquent opponent.
At Wimbledon, after shockingly dispatching Stan Warwrinka in the first round, Medvedev worked himself into snarly snit with the chair umpire in his next match, demanded the official be replaced (denied) and then, in an unprecedented display of temper, pulled out his wallet, grabbed a handful of coins and flung them at the man.
Significance of the gesture: Unclear. But it made him no fans.
The two had never met before, not even as juniors.
There was scant nerviness in the Russian’s performance Monday once he got past a first set where the players traded heavy ground strokes and some loose-ball errors. It was pretty much all Shapovalov after that.
Tale of the brisk 1:36 match: six aces, 104 points won, 72 per cent of first serve points won, 55 per cent of receiving points won.
What could only be subjectively measured: Shapovalov’s oozing self-confidence, the flamboyance of some of his shots, a powerfully dipping forehand, the beauty of his one-handed backhand, and his sheer joy of tennis.
Shapovalov is actually the highest ranked Canadian at Flushing Meadows.
Genie Bouchard, once-upon-atime World No. 5, fleetingly, has sunk to No. 74. She opens her Open on Tuesday against No. 82 Evgeniya Rodina of Russia. Vancouver’s Vasek Pospisil, No. 78, gets a tough task in No. 42 Fernando Verdasco of Spain. No other Canadians qualified. World No. 11 Milos Raonic of Thornhill — really, Monaco, as in resident of — was forced to withdraw from the final Grand Slam of the year after undergoing surgery on his left wrist.