“Denis Shapovalov will win Grand Slams” Patrick Mouratoglou explains why the Canadian will be successful in majors
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Patrick Mouratoglou and Denis Shapovalov
World No. 12 Denis Shapovalov had a good outing at the 2022 Australian Open where the 22-year old reached the quarter-finals of the Slam, only to lose to the eventual champion Rafael Nadal. Denis had lost the first two sets against Nadal but managed to take the game into the 5th set where the Spaniard ultimately shot down the Canadian youngster.
After tough wins in the first three rounds at Melbourne Park which included an intense 5-set battle in the second round, Shapovalov fought his way into the 4th round where he was up against World No. 3 Alexander Zverev, who was a heavy title favourite given his exploits in the 2021 season. Denis however brought his A-game and defeated the German in straight-sets completely frustrating Zverev in the match.
In a heated battle with Nadal which saw the two players discuss matters on the net during Nadal’s serve, Shapovalov almost seemed to knock out the Spaniard but Nadal held his fort and won the match. Top coach Patrick Mouratoglou was heavily impressed with the Canadian and gave his opinions on why he thinks Denis will become Grand Slam champion soon.
“Denis Shapovalov will win Grand Slams. When you see him play, he really wants it. He takes a lot of risks and I think it’s his game – that’s also why he needs a bit more time to deal with his incredible power, use it when it’s the right thing to do and use it a bit less when it’s time to put the ball in play.
“The fact that he needed, like three or four months to recover from a loss against Novak (2021 Wimbledon), I know it’s going to sound strange, but I see it as a very positive sign. I’ve seen players do a great result in one tournament and be extremely happy, and some others, (like) Stefanos Tsitsipas in the past, same for Denis, it’s never enough.
“It was his first semis in a grand slam. He loses against probably the greatest player of all time, Novak, and he is destroyed,” said Mouratoglou in Tennis Majors’ special segment ‘Eye of the Coach‘, where he makes assessments of different players and gives his opinions on them after breaking down their game styles.
Patrick Mouratoglou compares Stefanos Tsitsipas and Denis Shapovalov
With Shapovalov having already made his Top-10 debut and can take his place in the top-10 once again as he is just 565 points shy of 10th placed Jannik Sinner, Mouratoglou compared the mentality of Shapovalov and World No. 4 Stefanos Tsitsipas who made the semi-finals of the 2022 Australian Open and already has a Grand Slam finals appearance.
“For his (Denis) style of game, I think it takes more time. A bit like Stefanos Tsitsipas: those players that are much more aggressive, powerful and taking more risks. It takes more time, but the margin for progression is still incredible. Same with Stefanos, when he lost in the semi-finals of the Australian Open a few years back against Rafa (2019).
“He was destroyed that he lost this match. That’s a good sign. It shows that they put their goals extremely high,” added Mourtoglou as he draws comparisons between Shapovalov and his apprentice Tsitsipas who is heating up the battle to enter the Top-3 of the ATP rankings once again sitting only 700 points shy of 3rd placed Alexander Zverev.
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Sarthak Shitole
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