Denis Shapovalov is one of the brightest young stars in the tennis courts. However, Shapovalov has never gone beyond the fourth round of any Grand Slam tournaments. It seems, however, that the 20-year old player is determined to go much further this year.
Denis Shapovalov hires Mikhail Youzhny as coach
As part of his preparation for the 2019 U.S. Open, Shapovalov has hired Mikhail Youzhny to help him train for his games. If you think that the name is familiar, you are actually right: Youzhny was a former world no. 8 and qualified for the quarter-finals in all the Grand Slams. Now that he has retired, he hopes to get a second wind as a coach to younger stars hoping to break the dominance of the Big Three.
Shapovalov’s work with Youzhny is said to be on a trial basis for now as he is working to have a more consistent performance following a so-so record in the past two seasons. It is notable that the Russian-Canadian ace has changed coach several times already, including Martin Laurendeau and Rob Steckley. For Youzhny, it is his first time coaching so his reputation as a trainer may hinge on Shapovalov’s performance.
So far, Youzhny’s efforts may be paying off. While Shapovalov was eliminated from the second round of the Cincinnati Open earlier this month, he did impress when he won over Portugal’s Joao Sousa. He also performed well in the Winston-Salem Open a few weeks where he reached the semifinal.
Youzhny’s contributions to Shapovalov’s gameplay
1- Mental preparation
During an official press conference, Shapovalov has sung praises for his coach, noting how much he has helped him in improving. He notes that the discussions he has had with Youzhny helped him mentally prepare for the games. Youzhny talked to Shapovalov about the things that he should focus on so he can better operate on the courts.
2- He played recently
Shapovalov also thinks that Youzhny understands how he plays and gives him proper feedback on how to do things better. Another advantage that he thinks Youzhny gives him is the fact that his coach was a player himself. This means that he has played with some of the more competitive players in the rankings now and knows their strengths and weaknesses.
Shapovalov at the U.S. Open ranking, and results in 2019
Ranked no.33, Shapovalov has a 20-19 win-loss record in 2019. Denis is now competing at the U.S. Open where he defeated Felix Auger Aliassime 6-1 6-1 6-4 and Henri Laaksonen 6-4 7-62 6-2.
Denis will take on Monfils in the 3rd round. They have never played each so far on the main tour.
