17-year-old Denis Shapovalov has grabbed his first ever top-20 win after defeating an erratic Nick Kyrgios 7-6(2), 3-6, 6-3, in the first round of the Rogers Cup.
Shapovalov was playing in only his second match on the ATP tour and his first in a Masters 1000 tournament. Nevertheless, his inexperience failed to hold him back against his lackluster opponent. The Canadian saved eight break points and fired 37 winners to seal the milestone 99-minute win.
“Nick is an incredible tennis player. He’s Top 20 in the world. Maybe even future No. 1 in the world,” Shapovalov said.
“So obviously I didn’t expect to win. But like I said before, I’m just going to go fight for every point. That’s what I did. The outcome was very good today.”
The win might have surprised many, however, Shapovalov has already shown his potential on the tour this year by winning a trio of ITF Futures titles followed by the Wimbledon boys’ title. Currently ranked 370th in the world, the teenager isn’t afraid of playing in the limelight. According to Canadian website tsn.ca, Shapolov requested to play on the centre court because ‘he loves playing on a big stage’.
“I think the atmosphere really carried me forward today,” said Shapovalov.
“It’s tough playing the first time on centre court but by the end of the match I felt like the crowd really liked it when I was getting pumped up.”
As Shapovalov celebrates, his higher ranked opponent is left with a lot to think about. During his worst loss of the season, Kyrgios produced 44 unforced errors and 18 double faults. It is only his second loss of a season to a player ranked outside the top-50. The other was to Nicolas Almagro at the Estoril Open.
“I just didn’t play great, he played well,” Kyrgios said.
“Obviously he was excited, playing in front of his home crowd, I know what that feels like. To come off one of your biggest junior results and then play in one of your home tournaments, I know that feeling, it’s great.”
Next up for the Canadian sensation will be a second round meeting with former Wimbledon semifinalist Grigor Dimitrov. The Bulgarian recovered from a set and a break down to defeat Yuichi Sugita 5-7, 7-6(5), 6-4, in his opening match. Regardless of the outcome of the second round, Shapovalov is projected to climb inside the top-300 for the first time in his career when the rankings are updated next week.
