From Tom Tebbutt:
Shapovalov: A big boy junior
With a 12-match winning streak started at the Nike Junior International in Roehampton (London) two weeks ago and completed at the Wimbledon junior boys event this past week, Denis Shapovalov has established himself as the best junior player in the world.
The 17-year-old from Richmond Hill, Ont. completed his remarkable run with a 4-6, 6-1, 6-3 victory over Alex De Minaur of Australia in Sunday’s boys final on No. 1 Court at Wimbledon.
Photo: Wimbledon.com
It was a rocky start for Shapovalov, who later admitted to feeling very nervous. He lost his serve in the first game of the match and again in the third, bracketed around a service loss by De Minaur. But the match settled at that point and the right-hander from Sydney was able to hold the rest of the way to take the first set.
In the second, Shapovalov found his game and basically took over the match, breaking the steady but not overpowering De Minaur five times in the second and third sets. He only lost his own serve once the rest of the way to wrap up the Wimbledon boys title for Canada for the second time in five years. Filip Peliwo of Vancouver won the event in 2012, the same year Genie Bouchard captured the girls title.
Shapovalov impressed a lot of hardcore tennis fans with his gusto, his serve, his volleying ability and his one-handed backhand, which one observer compared to Richard Gasquet’s.
“It was tough in the first set,” Shapovalov said about the final. “I felt like I was late a lot, especially because the way he hits the ball, he hits it very flat. It’s different from a lot of players I’ve been playing. In the second set, I kind of found that confidence again, started going for shots. When I broke him the first time, at deuce I think I had a backhand pass. I just ripped it as hard as I could hoping it went in – and it did. The next point I had an inside/out forehand. I told myself, I’m going to go for it, I don’t care if I miss, I’m going to go for my shots. I went for it, made it, got the break.”
After the match, Shapovalov spoke to his parents Tessa and Viktor at home in Canada. “They’re extremely happy,” he said. “I mean, I couldn’t see but it sounded like they even had tears in their eyes. For sure it’s very exciting for them.”
His mother runs a program called TessaTennis in Vaughan north of Toronto.
He will next get to measure himself against the top level of men’s tennis – the ATP World Tour.
The management firm Lagardere has given him a wild card into next week’s ATP 500 event in Washington, D.C. “I got the wild card to Washington, the Citi Open,” he said. “That’s going to be huge for me. I’m very excited. The Citi Open is one of the oldest and prestigious tournaments. It’s going to be great for me to play my first high ATP‑level tournament.”
Shapovalov has shown he can match it with tour players by winning three Futures events and reaching a Challenger semifinal since the beginning of 2016. His current ranking of No. 374 puts him seventh among Canadians with ATP rankings.
Shapovalov’s only disappointment on the day was that he and great friend Félix Auger-Aliassime of Montreal were unable to win the boys doubles event. Playing back on the same No. 1 court after a ladies invitation doubles match was completed, the top-seeded Shapovalov and Auger-Aliassime were beaten 4-6, 6-4, 6-2 by second seeds Kenneth Raisma of Estonia and Stefanos Tsitsipas of Greece.
“I feel bad for Félix for the doubles,” Shapovalov said. “I feel like mostly I blew it. In the third set I felt a little bit tired.”
The two can console themselves with at least already having one Grand Slam title – at the US Open last September.
So the 2016 grass-court season is complete and Shapovalov is the junior boys master. “I went 12‑0 this season on grass,” he said. “It’s unbelievable. I think my game suits it a lot. I knew going into grass courts, I was very excited for it. I knew from last year, I beat the world No. 5 first round of Wimbledon last year.
“Yeah, of course, I love playing on grass.”
It was a truncated afternoon for Shapovalov, but he was able to catch some of Milos Raonic playing for the men’s title in Centre Court. “I was following a little bit of it,” he said. “I know Milos lost in two tight tiebreakers. I saw him actually in the doping (testing). I told him, ‘tough match.’ He congratulated me.”
About Raonic and Auger-Aliassime not succeeding in their matches on Sunday, Shapovalov said, “too bad Milos couldn’t make it. He was close. He was playing good tennis. I think in the future both Félix and Milos will get their Grand Slam.”