Regardless of what happens over the next few days in Toronto, one of the biggest stories at the 2016 Rogers Cup was the performance of 17-year-old local boy Denis Shapovalov. The teen from Richmond Hill, Ontario, fresh off a junior title run at Wimbledon, sent shockwaves through the tennis world when he upset world number 19 Nick Kyrgios on Monday night in Toronto.
The victory has put the entire tennis world on notice that he is a player to watch in the future, further solidifying Canada’s status as tennis’ top up-and-coming nation. After his win, Canada’s current generation of stars have weighed in on their young compatriot’s performance. Here’s what they had to say.
Milos Raonic (Canadian number one, world number seven)
“I think he can have a very bright future. Like I said last night, he's much further along than I was at his age. He has much more capacity than I had at that age. So he's figured it out quicker than I have.
But at the same time, just because of this one week, doesn't mean it necessarily carries through. He's going to have to put in a lot of hard work. But at the same time, I think he has been doing that. I think he has the right people around him to continue doing that.
Just because it happened for him that he played well this week and had a good win and had a good showing yesterday, as well, doesn't mean it just automatically happens. You still have to continue working on that whole process.”
Daniel Nestor (12-time major champion, Canadian doubles number one)
“He's amazing for his age and just his level in general. Throw away his age, he's playing at a very high level.
I tell people this story, that we practiced together right before Christmas this year and indoors on fast courts and we were playing singles. I mean, I was playing really well, and it was like even -- this is six months ago and the kid is 16 and I'm like, what is going on right now? I think I can still play pretty well sometimes and certain conditions, and this kid was, like, so impressive.
I'm not really that surprised, and I think he's got a really good future and good head on his shoulders. I mean, I don't see any weaknesses really. I think it's, you know, he's going to be up there with Vasek [Pospisil] and Milos. I don't know when, but he will be up there.”