Ranked no.27, at 19 years of age, Denis Shapovalov is definitely one of the most exciting prospects on the ATP tour.
The Canadian had his breakthrough year in 2017 in the home tournament in Montreal when he reached the semifinal after beating the likes of Juan Martin Del Potro and Rafael Nadal playing fantastic tennis.
Denis hasn’t managed to conquer his maiden ATP title soon in the following season (2018), but he still had a rather good year after he had some deep runs in Miami (4th round), Rome (semifinal) and Tokyo (semifinal).
Why Shapovalov thinks he can play already with the top guys
During a recent interview, Denis expressed his optimism about his potential to comment
“I have really made that jump, that improvement, where I don’t feel like I have to play my best tennis to beat these guys. I honestly feel like physically, and in terms of my tennis game, my level is there to be able to compete with these guys [top players] day in and day out.
Sure, against the top guys, I still have to improve certain things so I can compete with them, but I feel like I can still kind of push them. I’m able to hang in with them. [It’s a] realization that my level is there and it gave me that sense of calmness.”
Talking about his breakthrough year (2017), Denis added
“Everything just happened so quick,” said Shapovalov of his breakthrough in Montreal that year, when as a No143-ranked wildcard, he reached the semifinals, beating Juan Martin del Potro and Rafa Nadal en route.
I was a kid with a lot of potentials, a good junior player, grinding in the Challengers, making my way up into 150, and then two or three weeks later, I am 60 in the world playing all these big tournaments.
It was so overwhelming for me. It was not easy. All of a sudden, I’m thrown into all these tournaments with the guys I see on TV, and I feel like I am always forced to play my best to try and win.”
Denis will start his 2019 in Auckland hoping for a good week in New Zealand where he reached “only” the 2nd round last year after losing to Del Potro in straight sets.
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