Shapovalov: ‘It's Events Like This That I Enjoy The Most’

Denis Shapovalov’s inspired performances at last year’s inaugural ATP Cup helped lift Canada out of the group stage, but he’ll have to dig even deeper to navigate a tricky draw that pits him against Novak Djokovic and Alexander Zverev for the second year in a row.

Shapovalov, who reprises his role as Canada’s No. 1 singles player, turned heads when he handed Zverev a 70-minute upset last year in the group stage. The 21-year-old won two singles and two doubles matches before narrowly losing in a thriller against Djokovic, pushing him to the brink in Canada’s quarter-final defeat to eventual champion Serbia. 

“I think it's exciting,” Shapovalov said of his rematch against Djokovic in Group A. “I had a great match against him last year. I feel confident. I feel like I'm playing really good tennis in practice. Of course, it's the start of the season so there's really not many expectations. You just kind of go out there and see where your level is at... It's really fun to be back out here playing, competing, especially with this group of guys. It's events like this that I enjoy the most.”

Shapovalov will have the perfect opportunity to test his level in his first match of the season – a hotly anticipated rematch against World No. 1 Djokovic awaits as Canada takes the court against Serbia on Day 1.

“It goes to show how strong this event is,” said Canadian captain Peter Polansky. “Last year we played [Serbia] in the quarter-finals, they ended up winning it. Now we're playing each other again, round-robin, right back at it.

“I feel good about it. We've got a very strong team here. This whole event is going to be a lot of high-quality matches. It's going to be a fun event.”

Shapovalov will be backed by an all-star supporting cast; Canada is one of only four countries anchored by two Top 20 singles players. Big-serving Milos Raonic is making his tournament debut after rising from No. 32 to No. 14 in the FedEx ATP Rankings in 2020, with Polansky and 29-year-old Steven Diez rounding out the squad.

“I'm happy and eager to be here [and] to play alongside these gentlemen,” Raonic said. “For me, always a little bit of a longer break is a good thing. It ended up being a lot longer, sort of double the off-season that we're used to. I was able to train without any physical issues. So I'm excited about starting up now.”

With many ATP Cup ties coming down to a deciding doubles match, Canada also benefits from a versatile squad full of players who can all pair up in a pinch: Last year at the ATP Cup, Shapovalov partnered with fellow #NextGenATP player Felix Auger-Aliassime to claim two crucial points, while Raonic himself partnered with Auger-Aliassime for extra match play last year.

For a squad that will have to dig deep to advance out of a stacked Group A, Team Canada comes armed with plenty of weapons as they chase their first ATP Cup trophy.

“I'll decide [the doubles partnership] before the match. Captain's choice. Might play myself, might play some of the boys. We'll see,” Polansky joked. “Twitter will know first.”

from Tennis - ATP World Tour https://ift.tt/2MG5Atz