Fit & firing Shapovalov 'proud' of progress

Twelve months ago, Denis Shapovalov’s Wimbledon run was ended by Roman Safiullin in the fourth round. The Canadian was severely hampered by a knee injury during the clash, limping off court after his defeat. Shapovalov was inside the Top 30 in the PIF ATP Rankings at the time, but would not play again for the rest of the season, eventually returning at the ATP 250 event in Auckland in January.

Fast forward to now and the Canadian is one match away from reaching the last 16 at Wimbledon again, having earned a five-set second-round victory against Daniel Altmaier on Thursday.

“It's been a real tough journey to come back,” Shapovalov told ATPTour.com. “It is never easy to come back from an injury, especially when you do take six months off. You feel you need to kind of catch a break. I think I started to play as soon as I could and maybe it was a little bit too early. I wasn't completely ready tennis-wise, but you do need to play matches and tournaments. I was struggling a little bit at the beginning trying to find my game, but I feel better every single week.

“I started to feel like myself around Indian Wells time in March and you could see that with the results. I beat Botic [van de Zandschulp] and had a good match with [Lorenzo] Musetti. In Miami, I was able to beat [Stefanos] Tsitsipas and from then I was playing much better and getting wins over Top 50 players. To be back again in the third round of Wimbledon is just another step forward for me and it definitely shows all the work and the patience that I've had over the course of the year is paying off.”

Shapovalov first felt pain in his left knee in October 2022 when he was facing Daniil Medvedev in Vienna. The 25-year-old spoke with a number of specialists to gain advice and cut back on practice in the hope of limiting the impact on his knee. With little improvement, Shapovalov was forced to take six months off after Wimbledon last year, but is pleased with the decision as it has enabled him to compete at 100 per cent again.

The former Wimbledon semi-finalist has looked sharp through his opening two matches in west London, where he holds fond memories.

“Having been in semi-finals here in 2021, I think Wimbledon always has a very special place in my heart,” said Shapovalov, who holds an 11-5 tournament record. “That's why I think I also really enjoy coming here a week early not to even reminisce, but to just enjoy the facilities and enjoy the place before the fans come. It is much calmer and you can walk the grounds.

“Playing here always gives me a sense of confidence that I can play well here. Having that semi-final run does give me a little bit more confidence when I get into this tournament that I can elevate my game when it matters. I always love it on grass, win or lose. I love to play on the surface. I think it's so much fun. It's so different from anything else that we experience on Tour.”

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Shapovalov made his tour-level debut in Washington in 2016 and then stunned Rafael Nadal in Montreal in 2017, aged 18. The dynamic lefty was one of the hottest young prospects on Tour, also competing in the inaugural Next Gen ATP Finals presented by PIF in 2017.

Now 25, Shapovalov is a seasoned pro and on Friday he will face Ben Shelton, who is four years the Canadian’s junior.

Comparisons can be drawn between American Shelton and Canadian Shapovalov, with Shelton also possessing a thunderous lefty serve and dynamic all-court game. Last September, the then-20-year-old became the youngest American to reach the semi-finals at the US Open since Michael Chang in 1992. Shapovalov was just 22 when he reached the last four at Wimbledon three years ago.

“We have never played each other but he is obviously a super exciting young guy coming up,” Shapovalov said when asked about World No. 14 Shelton. “He's been playing great the past two years and I think he's a super tough opponent. We have kind of similar game styles. I think only he hits it bigger than I do. There is definitely going to be a lot of shot-making.”

Shapovalov enters the clash at No. 136 in the PIF ATP Live Rankings. The one-time ATP Tour titlist is content with his current position given the torrid time he endured in 2023 and is eager to look at the bigger picture when setting his goals for the rest of the season.

“It's been very tough to set goals because you don't know what kind of draws you're going to get, especially not being seeded. It's tough to say I want to make the second week because you could play Novak [Djokovic] first round,” Shapovalov said.

“It's tough to even put a ranking on myself right now in terms of my level. It's a super tricky situation. I've had a lot of great wins this year, but I'll play a good tournament, beat a guy like Tomas [Martin] Etcheverry and then run into [Alexander] Zverev on clay, who was not playing too bad at the time. I have seven months of zero points to defend coming up, so it's definitely a great position to be in.

“I'm definitely proud of myself for grinding out as many matches and trying to get as many points as I can. I'm trying to focus on myself, trying to do the best I can every week. It is definitely an interesting situation. I've never really been in this situation before, so it is something new.”

Shapovalov will aim to reach the fourth round at a major for the sixth time when he takes on Shelton on No. 3 Court on Friday afternoon.