It is still early days but Denis Shapovalov is excited to see what the future holds for him and his collaboration with coach Jamie Delgado.
The world No.14 began his Australian Open campaign on Monday with a grueling four-set encounter against Laslo Djere which he won 7-6(3), 6-4, 3-6, 7-6(3), after more than three hours of play. It was by no means a perfect start for the Canadian who produced a total of 68 unforced errors compared to 39 winners. However, he isn’t too concerned about the performance as he praised the Serbian world No.51.
“I don’t think it was actually bad tennis. I think we both played at a really high level,” Shapovalov told reporters. “It was tricky. I thought he really brought it today. I’m definitely happy to get the win. He definitely made me work for it. So I’m super happy about that.’
“I think the level was pretty high, especially at the important moments. We were playing some great tennis. We weren’t really giving each other much.”
After winning his first ATP Cup title last week, Shapovalov is now hoping to make a breakthrough at the Australian Open where he is yet to reach the second week. In his four previous appearances, he has reached the third round twice. His win over Djere was just the sixth he has ever achieved at the Grand Slam.
Tasked with overseeing Shapovalov’s progression in Melbourne is British coach Delgado. A former player who is best known for his work with Andy Murray which started in 2016 and ended just last year. Shapovalov had previously been working with Mikhail Youzhny but both decided to go their own ways.
“It was very mutual,” he explained. “We still text and we continue to have a good relationship, but it just wasn’t working. Both of us weren’t achieving what we wanted to. Unfortunately that’s the business of tennis sometimes. It’s super tough. Just had to go in a different direction.”
Making the change has so far been a good experience for Shapovalov who is full of praise when it comes to his new mentor. Even though their partnership was only officially announced last month. The two spoke with each other on the phone several times before deciding to join forces.
“It’s definitely been really great with him. Obviously it’s very early on but I think the few things that we’ve implemented into the game have been great,” said Shapovalov.
“I do feel like we understand each other really well. The whole team actually is working really, really well. Everyone’s communicating.’
“I think he’s doing a good job of implementing that and staying on top of everything. It’s definitely looking good with him.”
Shapovalov’s next test in Melbourne will be against South Korea’s Kwon Soon-woo who edged out Denmark’s Holger Rune in five sets in his first round match. In his section of the draw, the 22-year-old could then potentially play the big serving Reilly Opelka in the third round followed by a showdown with Alexander Zverev.
“It’s not like there’s only one guy you can lose against. There’s a lot of tricky opponents,” Shapovalov concluded of the draw.