Denis Shapovalov is experiencing a magical moment in his still short career. Currently ranked no.28, he is no15 in the live rankings and can be 11th if he beats Novak Djokovic in the final in Paris.
The young Canadian reached the last act of this ATP1000 following the retirement of Rafael Nadal in the semifinal. However, Denis has been playing impressing tennis for the entire week during his wins against Fabio Fognini, Alexander Zverev, and Gael Monfils.
Coach Youzhny helping with his backhand
Earlier in the year, Shapovalov looked lost after he reached the semifinals in Miami. He was unable to win more than 2 matches in the same tournament until he started his partnership with Mikhail Youzhny. From that moment, he reached the semifinal in Winton-Salem and Chengdu before winning his maiden title in Stockholm. Things are getting better and better for the young Canadian that has now a shot at winning his maiden ATP1000.
Talking about Youzhny, Denis revealed how happy he is on how they are working on his backhand return, a shot that was causing many problems to Denis in the past. The 20-year-old commented:
“[We] worked on blocking it a lot more to start the point and it’s a tricky shot for the opponents. I feel like it was working for me in Chengdu in one of my matches, and then from then I just stayed with it. I feel like it’s a really big improvement in my game.”
The Russian helped Denis a lot also from a mental point of view as Shapovalov is now going a bit less for broke to reduce the amount of his unforced errors dramatically. The Canadian looks happy to also redirect his shots a bit more to the center of the court during tense moments to avoid painful mistakes.
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About his ranking
Denis is not surprised for the fact that he is about to break in the top20 to comment:
“I think my level is there. I’ve beaten most of these guys here or there, or a guy like Goffin, I have gotten really close with him. I think my level is there and I knew it was just a question of time. It’s just taken me a little bit of time to improve my game and just grow as a player.”
H2H Shapovalov vs. Djokovic
Denis has a losing record against the world no.1 that defeated him 3 times in 2019 after conceding just 1 set during their contests. However, it’s interesting to notice that his own coach has a 3-0 winning record against the Serbian on indoor courts. Therefore, Denis may have a very good source on how to upset Novak.
Shapovalov in Paris, ranking, and results in 2019
Ranked no.28, Shapovalov has a 33-24 win-loss record in 2019. Shapovalov is now playing in Paris where he bested Gilles Simon 2-2 ret., Fabio Fognini 3-6 6-3 6-3, Alexander Zverev 6-2 5-7 6-2, Gael Monfils 6-2 6-2 and Rafael Nadal w/o.
Shapovalov will play Djokovic in the final. The head to head is 3-0 for Djokovic.
The last time that they played, Djokovic won 6-3 6-3 in the 2nd round in Shanghai on the 09th October 2019.
The Canadian has won 1 title in 2019 in Stockholm.
