Shapovalov grows up fast, uses Davis Cup incident to mature

Apr 14, 2017
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Shapovalov grows up fast, uses Davis Cup incident to mature

The Canadian teen has propelled himself into the Top 200.

Published Apr 14, 2017

Canada's Denis Shapovalov first made his presence known by stunning Nick Kyrgios in Toronto last summer. He then resurfaced in February, but for all the wrong reasons, thanks to accidentally hitting a Davis Cup umpire in the face during Canada's tie against Great Britain.

Shapovalov, who celebrates his 18th birthday on Saturday, has grown a lot since then—even though it's been just over two months.

"It's unfortunate that happened and it's very unprofessional from me..." he told the ATP Tour. "I think the past couple of weeks its helped my tennis because I'm really focusing on changing mentally and changing the way I act on court."

He was soon rewarded by becoming the youngest Canadian to win an ATP Challenger in Drummondville, Quebec, as his ranking rose into the Top 200.

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The world No. 172 has a shot of making it to the inaugural Next Gen ATP Finals in Milan in November (which is just for players aged 21 and under). But there is still a lot of young talent ahead of him.

"Only eight players make it into that tournament..." Shapovalov said. "I'm going to do everything I can to try to make it."