The Shape Of Things To Come: Denis Shapovalov!
- Thread starter stringertom
- Start date
Sparlingo
Hall of Fame
I'm doubtful that anything is ailing him. I've seen him cough after matches during interviews, probably gets a little dry. If there is any source that says he's sick then I will change my mind but I can't find any..
gogo
Legend
I'm torn between 'pride with his girlfriend watching, and fumbling in response' and 'saving his body for AO'. Not sure which it is.
stringertom
Bionic Poster
Fucsovics may be the toughest 1R assignment other than Joe Kovic vs Struff. Thiem (Mannarino) and Medvedev (Tiafoe) are the other tricky ones.
Let’s hope he’s ready!
I don't think Steve Johnson agrees with you.
stringertom
Bionic Poster
Fucsovics #66 and Doha QFist; SJ #81, playing and winning a Challenger as a tuneup. Close, but advantage STFucsovics.
prairiegirl
Hall of Fame
The guy is 27 yrs. old and if that's the best he can do it's a bit sad.
stringertom
Bionic Poster
He was #31 at one point last year so when he’s healthy he’s dangerous. There was the infamous shared ice bath with Joe Kovic at USO’18 after splitting sets.
It’s a battle of Wimby Boy’s champions for sure, just separated by six years.
prairiegirl
Hall of Fame
Should be a cracker of a match!
Couldn't listen to that dribble for more than a minute of so.
How on earth did you get to 1:05:00?
Link here - Shapovalov considering pulling out because of air quality. https://www.telegraph.co.uk/tennis/...ould-rather-pull-australian-open-risk-health/
Totally agree. If it's that smoky he's better off going to somewhere else and practicing for the next swing than dealing with smoke. That stuff can mess up your lungs for months, and who knows what the long-term effects are.
IMO, the only reasonable policy is "no play if AQI > 150".
I mean, hopefully the air stays better than that, we don't know for sure if it'll be actually that bad the days of the tournament. But there's a chance.
Totally agree. If it's that smoky he's better off going to somewhere else and practicing for the next swing than dealing with smoke. That stuff can mess up your lungs for months, and who knows what the long-term effects are.
IMO, the only reasonable policy is "no play if AQI > 150".
I mean, hopefully the air stays better than that, we don't know for sure if it'll be actually that bad the days of the tournament. But there's a chance.
Very sloppy start. 7 unforced errors in the first two games (down 2-0). In his second service game he threw in three doublefaults, managed to hold by painting the lines on other serves, so only down one break.
He's not letting Fucsovics do anything, but Fucsovic doesn't really need to. Shapo needs to clean it up.
[edit] Shapovalov does not in fact "clean it up", and doublefaults on setpoint down. Set 1 to Fucsovic.
He's not letting Fucsovics do anything, but Fucsovic doesn't really need to. Shapo needs to clean it up.
[edit] Shapovalov does not in fact "clean it up", and doublefaults on setpoint down. Set 1 to Fucsovic.
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Fucsovics returns the favor, doublefaulting on setpoint down at 7-8 in the second set tiebreak!
...not sure what to make of the second set. Nobody had any break points. Shapovalov cleaned it up enough to not get broken, though he had to servebot sometimes to make up for spraying the ball. Couldn't make headway on Fucsovic's serve, some racquet throwing. He was up 3-0 in the tiebreak, but let it get back to 3-3. He was up 6-4 in the tiebreak, had setpoints, let it get back to 6-6. He had a super-long rally down set point at 6-7 in the tiebreak (didn't spray anything!) and then just gave Fucsovic the chance to miss.
One set all. Not the cleanest match yet, but Shapo just holding on.
...not sure what to make of the second set. Nobody had any break points. Shapovalov cleaned it up enough to not get broken, though he had to servebot sometimes to make up for spraying the ball. Couldn't make headway on Fucsovic's serve, some racquet throwing. He was up 3-0 in the tiebreak, but let it get back to 3-3. He was up 6-4 in the tiebreak, had setpoints, let it get back to 6-6. He had a super-long rally down set point at 6-7 in the tiebreak (didn't spray anything!) and then just gave Fucsovic the chance to miss.
One set all. Not the cleanest match yet, but Shapo just holding on.
vive le beau jeu !
Talk Tennis Guru
damned... it could have been very interesting against sinner 
Shapo can't put away the 4th set, loses in 4.
Poor match from him. He's played better before.
No idea what's up with him. He was playing excellent from last year's Winston-Salem through the ATP cup this year, but then last week in Auckland he looked like he had no energy and was frustrated, and this week more of the same. Like a switch flipped in the wrong direction.
Well, hopefully he figures it out again soon.
Poor match from him. He's played better before.
No idea what's up with him. He was playing excellent from last year's Winston-Salem through the ATP cup this year, but then last week in Auckland he looked like he had no energy and was frustrated, and this week more of the same. Like a switch flipped in the wrong direction.
Well, hopefully he figures it out again soon.
TenS_Ace
Professional
prairiegirl
Hall of Fame
Yes, something indeed seems to have taken place. I think he never wanted to play here for some reason. Maybe he wanted time off? I don't know. But, he is young and talented and a hard worker. He and Mikhail will figure it out.
Mark-Touch
Legend
Not to worry. He's still young. I figure he's got at least 10 years to figure out how to win a slam.
King No1e
G.O.A.T.
Tsitsipas did it last year and Shapo is a really talented player, it wasn't an outlandish prediction.
BeatlesFan
Bionic Poster
You can't be serious.
BeatlesFan
Bionic Poster
Don't compare Tsitsipas to Federer.
Please.
Anyway, this is a Forum for Denis, not debating Fed.
JJGUY
Hall of Fame
on the bright side, Melbourne's air quality will improve dramatically after Shapo's exit, Karma is a biatch!
March31
Rookie
He was actually comparing Tsitsipas to Shapovalov)
On the topic: a bit depressed to see two young guns so quickly out, Shapo and Coric.
Well... not really a surprise
Red Rick
Bionic Poster
I can compare anyone to Federer.
I'll compare myself to Federer right here.
I suck at tennis.
Mainad
Bionic Poster
Curse of the ATP Cup? Put too much energy and motivation into playing that rather than preparing for the 1st Slam of the season??
Marius_Hancu
Talk Tennis Guru
Until he regularly beats tough guys such as Struff, Ugo Humbert, Fucsovics, he' won't have a chance at greatness.
Strategy and focus not there yet.
Strategy and focus not there yet.
There was more than a week off in between. Surely a good performance in one doesn't burn a player out for the other.
He crashed out early at Auckland, so actually planned more matchplay than he's had.
Sysyphus
Talk Tennis Guru
What.
There are hardly anyone behind him who should be ranked ahead of him (Rublev will pass him here, likely). His Elo is also well ahead of his ranking.
He's just fairly inconsistent is all.
Red Rick
Bionic Poster
If he can't stay hot for more than 2 matches then he's simply not as good as his hot stretches suggest. He got 200 points last week cause of ATP Cup inflation and also got 240 points for free when he got the Paris walkover from Nadal.
Schwartzman and Rublev should be ahead of him. Hell even Kyrgios should imo. And the Tour is dire. He's no top 15 player in my mind at this point. I don't really think inconsistency is much of an excuse especially when they can barely stay hot a few games and when they can't really threaten top 3 players when hot either.
Red Rick
Bionic Poster
Little pusher certainly puts up better fight in big matches. Also made Slam QF and didn't get a 240 point freebie.Schwartzman
The little pusher who could.
Honestly think De Minaur and Dimitrov are better players as well.
Sysyphus
Talk Tennis Guru
The ATP cup wasn't a private event for Shapovalov, and catching occasional lucky breaks isn't reserved for him either.
If what you said made any sense, it should be reflected in the Elo rating lagging behind his actual ranking. But that's not the case at all. If anything, his actual performance trend suggests that his ranking is lagging slightly behind his level and is likely to rise a bit in the foreseeable future.
«The tour is dire» is a meaningless catch-all that justifies calling anyone overranked no matter what the facts say.
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