Denis Shapovalov is not that good

B

borna coric

Semi-Pro
I watched the match between Shapovalov and Tiafoe right next to the players' box last night. Shapovalov showed some flashes but his BH will be an issue with big hitters like Cilic, Wawrinka, Del Potro, Tiafoe, etc... They are going to destroy Shapovalov's backhand. His level of consistency is not there yet. Shapovalov is 6"0 and 165lbs but when I see him in person, the dude is kinda frail. He should spend much more time in the gym to bulk up or his game is already peaked. I compare Shapovalov and Coric at the same age and Coric was physically stronger at 18.

Watching the match yesterday next to the court side and Tiafoe's victory was never in doubt.
 
J

JMR

Hall of Fame
borna coric said:
I watched the match between Shapovalov and Tiafoe right next to the players' box last night. Shapovalov showed some flashes but his BH will be an issue with big hitters like Cilic, Wawrinka, Del Potro, Tiafoe, etc...
Click to expand...

Perhaps with hitters "like" those guys, but not necessarily with all those players themselves. Wawrinka probably will be retired before Shap turns 20! Del Potro and Cilic (almost the exact same age to the day, curiously) are about to turn 30. These giants will not have long, Fed-like late careers, so Shap won't have to worry about them for too long. Generally, I agree that the kid needs to bulk up a little, but some of that development should occur naturally as he gets older.
 
D

Deleted member 77403

Guest
Shaps oeak is a few years away yet, and as @JMR has stated, the majority of those guys will be done or on their way out.
 
Badabing888

Badabing888

Hall of Fame
Denis has the advantage of being a lefty. If he can maximise this, he’ll certainly when his game matures. He’s also a shot maker and exciting to watch now - future Wimbledon contender in the 2020s for sure.
 
Last edited:
George Turner

George Turner

Hall of Fame
not going to get near his peak for a couple of years. My prediction of a Shapo Wimbledon win in 2020 still stands.

He's inconsistent, like most young players. He's already beaten 'big hitters' Del Potro and Tsonga. He has much more talent than Djokovic-wannabe Coric has.



As for bulk, Most 18 year olds are pretty 'frail.' Did you watch Murray play at 18 when he used to cramp in any match that went five sets!

This article would make sense if Shapo was close to Thiems age but he's only 18. More patience is needed on these fickle boards.
 
N

Nickzor

Semi-Pro
He's only 18 years old and already had some huge wins, made the 4th round of US OPEN last year, has beat Nadal, Delpo, Tsonga, Kyrgios etc, Denis is a very good player, great movement, power, is a lefty, he's probably no where near his peak, if he peaks in a few years and packs on some muscle, its gonna be a great career for sure
 
wangs78

wangs78

Legend
He’s got great movement, shotmaking ability and has had big wins. Players like these, if they apply themselves, have a very good chance of breaking through sooner or later. Don’t forget Roger didn’t win his first Slam until 21, 2 years after his victory against Sampras at Wimby (when he was already 19).

I will say that most of us Fed fans are biased to be optimistic about Shapo, bc he is someone we’d like to carry the baton when Roger’s gone given his style of play. Really hope it won’t be Zverev.
 
Roddick85

Roddick85

Hall of Fame
He's got a lot of potential, still only 18 and lots of upside to his game if he's got a decent head on his shoulders. He definitely needs some polishing, but give him 2-3 years and he could be a top 10 guy.
 
BeatlesFan

BeatlesFan

Bionic Poster
paranoidandroid said:
He’s 18 years old and ranked no.46 in the world.
Give the kid a break.
Click to expand...
And his match against Tiafoe is not indicative of his normal level of play. Even Denis admitted that after the match.

If the Tiafoe match would be the first match I'd ever seen of Denis, I would agree with the OP. Shapo was really bad and his BH looked atrocious. But I've seen more than a dozen of his matches and he's way better than he was showing last night. He'll almost certainly be in the top 25 by the end of the year, whereas Frances won't get close to that ranking.
 
OddJack

OddJack

G.O.A.T.
Shapo is just OK. Not good enough for a major, not even for a master. Beyond that, you can say he is OK.
 
HazBeen18

HazBeen18

Rookie
Didn't watch the Tiafoe but have watched enough of Denis' matches to know that he's going to be a solid top 25 player before long... and with proper guidance (and time in the gym) perhaps go higher. I think he will win 1000's and he may have a shot at a grand slam at some point. That's a lot to put on his shoulders but he seems like he has a good head for keeping things on track.
 
HazBeen18

HazBeen18

Rookie
Sorry for the double post... forums are running like molasses right now

Didn't watch the Tiafoe match, but have watched enough of Denis' matches to know that he's going to be a solid top 25 player before long... and with proper guidance (and time in the gym) perhaps go higher. I think he will win 1000's and he may have a shot at a grand slam at some point. That's a lot to put on his shoulders but he seems like he has a good head for keeping things on track.
 
OddJack

OddJack

G.O.A.T.
BeatlesFan said:
At 18 years of age, the only players in the Open Era "good enough for a major" were Borg, Wilander, Chang and Becker. You seem to have a really high bar for judging the greatness of a tennis player.
Click to expand...

I am not talking about him winning a major or a master now at around 18 yo. I am talking about him ever.
 
Standaa

Standaa

G.O.A.T.
BeatlesFan said:
Perhaps, but he was 19 years old and three days when he won the FO in 2005. The only 17-18 year olds to win slams were Becker, Chang, Borg and Mats. :)
Click to expand...

But you said "a contender". He would have been a strong contender a year before too, but he couldn’t play.
 
La Vigésima

La Vigésima

Rookie
StANDAA said:
She said "good enough for a major" which to me is a same thing.
Click to expand...

It’s not at all the same thing in this context (if ever). Read the statement of the person she was quoting in tandem with her own statement. Here it clearly means “good enough to win a major,” not “good enough to contend for a major.”
 
Standaa

Standaa

G.O.A.T.
La Vigésima said:
It’s not at all the same thing in this context (if ever). Read the statement of the person she was quoting in tandem with her own statement. Here it clearly means “good enough to win a major,” not “good enough to contend for a major.”
Click to expand...

Okay then, Rafa was good enough to win the French even in 04, if you wanna get technical about it.
 
Poisoned Slice

Poisoned Slice

Bionic Poster
Finland-Flag.jpg
 
T

TennisD

Professional
He's 18 years old and he's just fine. As he gets stronger his game will become a lot scarier. The idea of calling him frail is absolutely insane.
 
MrFlip

MrFlip

Professional
At least some people on this board recognise talent.

Shapovalov > Dimitrov, Kygrios, Chung, Raonic

The guy will continue to develop and grow and if he doesnt win a slam this year it will be in 2019 or 2020.
 
M

mental midget

Hall of Fame
MrFlip said:
At least some people on this board recognise talent.

Shapovalov > Dimitrov, Kygrios, Chung, Raonic

The guy will continue to develop and grow and if he doesnt win a slam this year it will be in 2019 or 2020.
Click to expand...

i'm not sure if i'd put shapo ahead of nick and grigor in the talent department, both those guys have great racket skills. but he's got the goods no question, just needs to add a little margin to the game and learn some patience, both of which will come in time.
 
The Green Mile

The Green Mile

Bionic Poster
You should have seen Federer's backhand when he was only seventeen/eighteen. Denis is so much more better than what Fed was, it's not even funny. Denis has plenty of time to improve his technique/tactics/etc... His serve/forehand combination is absolutely brilliant for someone so young.
 
donquijote

donquijote

G.O.A.T.
borna coric said:
I watched the match between Shapovalov and Tiafoe right next to the players' box last night. Shapovalov showed some flashes but his BH will be an issue with big hitters like Cilic, Wawrinka, Del Potro, Tiafoe, etc... They are going to destroy Shapovalov's backhand. His level of consistency is not there yet. Shapovalov is 6"0 and 165lbs but when I see him in person, the dude is kinda frail. He should spend much more time in the gym to bulk up or his game is already peaked. I compare Shapovalov and Coric at the same age and Coric was physically stronger at 18.

Watching the match yesterday next to the court side and Tiafoe's victory was never in doubt.
Click to expand...
So you created a thread just to show that you watched a match sitting next to players box?
 
La Vigésima

La Vigésima

Rookie
StANDAA said:
Okay then, Rafa was good enough to win the French even in 04, if you wanna get technical about it.
Click to expand...

That’s lovely, but she was making a simple point (few are ready to win majors by age 18) grounded in historical fact (only four male players have actually done so). Then you changed her words and took the point in the direction of a hypothetical scenario, all while failing to actually counter her argument in any significant way.
 
Gary Duane

Gary Duane

G.O.A.T.
BeatlesFan said:
And his match against Tiafoe is not indicative of his normal level of play. Even Denis admitted that after the match.

If the Tiafoe match would be the first match I'd ever seen of Denis, I would agree with the OP. Shapo was really bad and his BH looked atrocious. But I've seen more than a dozen of his matches and he's way better than he was showing last night. He'll almost certainly be in the top 25 by the end of the year, whereas Frances won't get close to that ranking.
Click to expand...
Why do you continue to make these rash predictions?

Tiafoe has an odd game. We just don't know how high he can get. I don't like the look of his strokes, but I'm waiting to see what happens.

And I think Denis is hugely over-hyped. He MAY grow into the hype, but he's not there yet. There are holes in his game.
 
muph

muph

Rookie
Apart from Fed to me he's the most exciting guy to watch play. Obviously way too early to make "multiple GS" predictions but I'd just love to see him play important matches 'cause he's got the most entertaining style of the NextGen by far. Don't care about perfect matches, flashes of brilliance do way more for me. I'm also a sucker for 1HBH I have to admit :D
 
rushhr

rushhr

Rookie
i tune in to see his oversized hat/undersized head. nothing more. nothing less.

at this point, we're expecting peter north results from macauley culkin.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

B
shapovalov is not good yet
Replies
23
Views
2K
norcal
norcal
A
‘I am on the side of the PTPA’ – Denis Shapovalov backs compatriot Vasek Pospisil
Replies
7
Views
585
Tshooter
Tshooter
Nole_The_Champion
“Isn’t Praised Enough”: Denis Shapovalov Lauds Novak Djokovic
2
Replies
57
Views
3K
PilotPete
P
H
The «good and bad» of Shapovalov's tennis game
Replies
19
Views
2K
BeatlesFan
BeatlesFan
TheMaestro1990
Shapovalov - the player everyone wants to avoid in the Wimbledon draw
Replies
11
Views
658
True Fanerer
True Fanerer
Top