The Shape Of Things To Come: Denis Shapovalov!

gogo

gogo

Legend
-NN- said:
More on the heart issue??
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Felix received a WC to his first Challenger in Guadeloupe. He ended up withdrawing....simply walking to the net saying he wasn't well. Apparently (according to the French press) it was a heart condition. The later response was that it was well under control and had been dealt with. Take this with a grain of salt, of course. It still rattled me.

ETA: I should add that that was a while ago (a year and a half ago??) and there has not been any sign of an issue since.
 
-NN-

-NN-

G.O.A.T.
gogo said:
Felix received a WC to his first Challenger in Guadeloupe. He ended up withdrawing....simply walking to the net saying he wasn't well. Apparently (according to the French press) it was a heart condition. The later response was that it was well under control and had been dealt with. Take this with a grain of salt, of course. It still rattled me.
Click to expand...

Hmmmmmmmmmmm... I'm reading it's tachycardia. I'm no expert but it sounds like it could be a serious spanner in the works. I have no idea how under control that situation can truly be. He may have to develop an even more aggressive game, so really it's good news (just kiddin', but he might have to do that). Would like to know more but for the moment his progress through the ranks remains on a good pace.
 
metsman

metsman

G.O.A.T.
gogo said:
My main worry there is that FAA will succumb to health/injury issues (heart; wrist; or something else) or, more likely, simply won't be able to handle the expectations. Are these unfounded? Please tell me these are unfounded concerns. I really, really, really want FAA to fulfill his potential. The fans are waiting!
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These are concerns for just about anyone. Hopefully he bounces back soon from the wrist injury, if not it could be problematic.
 
Joseph_K

Joseph_K

Hall of Fame
Given the number of withdrawals, it's amost surprising Shapo hasn't gained direct entry into the main draw at this year's Rogers Cup. He faces a qualifier/special exempt in the first round. Were he to win that match, he would play either John Isner or Juan Martin del Potro in round two.

J.
 
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stringertom

stringertom

Bionic Poster
Joseph_K said:
Given the number of withdrawals, it's amost surprising Shapo hasn't gained direct entry into the main draw at this year's Rogers Cup. He faces a qualifier/special exempt in the first round. Were he to win that match, he would play either John Isner or Juan Martin del Potro in round two.

J.
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His countryman Pospisil is ranked 33 spots higher than Shapo and he needed a WC to get in so it's hyperbole to say "it's almost surprising" he hasn't gone DE. Maybe next year.
 
T

Tornes

Semi-Pro
stringertom said:
Clutchpolov, saving 4 MPs in the second set and then closing the deal!

He may have a shot at JMDP...he played great tennis as a decided underdog vs BerdPoo at Queen's. Let's see if he can repeat that but win it this time!
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Not only 4 MPs but 4 BPs at 5 all second set as well. These were as much important. I dont believe he would be able to break Dutra Silva's serve if he was broken.

He did not play his greatest tennis in first two sets but he was clutch and played well at the BPs in the second set. Then the tiebreak was good and the last set too (and Dutra Silva helped as well). When he is on, he can be really great player. However as Red Rick pointed out he breaks down very easily. Hope he improve in this. Another problem is his return game. He needs to improve it massively to truly become top player.

Looking forward to his match with del Potro.
 
Marius_Hancu

Marius_Hancu

Talk Tennis Guru
Denis literally had to do it today in front of a huge crowd and he did it.

Long way still to accelerate a ball like Federer and Nadal: the technique needs improvement on both sides.
 
stringertom

stringertom

Bionic Poster
Tornes said:
Not only 4 MPs but 4 BPs at 5 all second set as well. These were as much important. I dont believe he would be able to break Dutra Silva's serve if he was broken.

He did not play his greatest tennis in first two sets but he was clutch and played well at the BPs in the second set. Then the tiebreak was good and the last set too (and Dutra Silva helped as well). When he is on, he can be really great player. However as Red Rick pointed out he breaks down very easily. Hope he improve in this. Another problem is his return game. He needs to improve it massively to truly become top player.

Looking forward to his match with del Potro.
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Shared opinions here but his game, even with the aforementioned holes, is quite a bit better than what I saw last April at the Futures tournament where I met him. His upside is large but he is a work in progress, as would be expected for an 18-year-old in his first full year as a professional.

After this ATP level tournament and perhaps the USO if he can qualify with a long trip to Vancouver for a Challenger in between, it's back to the lab known as the Challenger tour full time and the experiments will continue. I like his chances to cook up some good sh1t.
 
PeteD

PeteD

Legend
gogo said:
I was out of town so missed Denis' match today, but here is a clip of Denis fending off all of those match points in the second set against Dutra Silva:

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Great clip. Dutra was human walling but that's not enough against the Shape Shifter! Juan is next victim!
 
Marius_Hancu

Marius_Hancu

Talk Tennis Guru
The Great One, Wayne Gretzky, seems to be a fan of Shapovalov's.

Gretzky's daughter, Emma, 14, seems to be the blonde girl I observed standing with Denis's family/camp at courtside at the Shapovalov - Chung practice on Monday on court #8 here, on which I am playing myself frequentliy :cool: (just not during Rogers Cup:)). That particular girl joined the Bryan brothers in several minutes of doubles afterwards on the adjacent court #7.

Canadian royalty.

See
https://twitter.com/i/moments/894667003394486273
 
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gogo

gogo

Legend
stringertom said:
Coric will be cake...like butter!
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tumblr_inline_ong8dpPo7s1skrr11_500.gif
 
Fedole

Fedole

Semi-Pro
Denis... what a game he has got, love the tennis this guy plays. He just brings it, aggression to the max. Really nice guy as well, but fearless on the court.
 
M

Max G.

Legend
Well then. This is turning into quite the match from young shaps, now at 4-4 in the third. Fun to watch for sure.

This is when one of them has to turn it up a notch and take the match. Let's see whether that'll be the young guy or the veteran.
 
M

Max G.

Legend
Way to go shapovalov!!!

I watched the third set, and Nadal had Shapovalov on the ropes so many time early, that service game of Shapovalov's that went 12 minutes with endless deuces, and then more break points in the next game... he was even down 3-0 in the tiebreak, but he hung tough and kept hitting big forehand and going for his shots, and it paid off.

This gives him 180 ranking points and should put him in the top 100, giving him the chance to start contesting a lot more ATP-level tournaments.
 
mule250

mule250

Professional
Max G. said:
Way to go shapovalov!!!

I watched the third set, and Nadal had Shapovalov on the ropes so many time early, that service game of Shapovalov's that went 12 minutes with endless deuces, and then more break points in the next game... he was even down 3-0 in the tiebreak, but he hung tough and kept hitting big forehand and going for his shots, and it paid off.

This gives him 180 ranking points and should put him in the top 100, giving him the chance to start contesting a lot more ATP-level tournaments.
Click to expand...
Very cool! Nadal actually won 5 more points than him but he played amazingly well on the important points. Looking forward to seeing him in a lot more main draws!
 
Talker

Talker

Hall of Fame
His lack of nerves really surprised me.

Sure, he had quite a few errors but not because of nerves, that's just his game.

He's still a little rough around the edges but that's something he can work on.

Just hope this isn't a one good game teaser, even a mindless ball basher has his day once in awhile.
 
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