The Next Generation of Tennis Players Who Have A Bright Future

3) Denis Shapovalov (Canada)

Denis Shapovalov at the Miami Open 2018

I must admit that my first impression of Shapovalov was a pretty negative one, as I stumbled on a video of Shapovalov unintentionally hitting the chair umpire in Canada’s tie against Great Britain in the Davis Cup in rage. That was in February and I didn’t hear of him before August when he defeated Juan Martin Del Potro and then Rafael Nadal in the successive round at the Rogers Cup. He lost to eventual champion Alexander Zverev in the semifinals, becoming the youngest player to reach the semifinals in a Masters 1000 tournament.

He then became the youngest after Michael Chang in 1989 to reach the fourth round of the US Open, defeating the 8th seed Jo-Wilfred Tsonga on the way. He was also picked by team captain John McEnroe to represent Team World in the inaugural Laver Cup held later in September, which was to take on Team Europe that consisted of Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal among others and was captained by Bjorn Borg.

He also qualified for the inaugural NextGen ATP Finals but wasn’t able to qualify for the semi-finals of the same.

Shapovalov has a very offensive game style, with the forehand and the serve his biggest weapons. His backhand tends to misfire at the time due to his ultra-aggressive game style. There is also a room for improvement in his volleys and returns, which will aid him in implementing his game style effectively.

It will be very interesting to see the progress he makes this year, where he has already reached the semi-finals of the Delray Beach Open. He also has time on his side, as at 18 years of age, he is the youngest player in the ATP Top 100.