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Milos Raonic not the only Canadian on a roll at Wimbledon this week: the junior boys are getting it done
WIMBLEDON – Milos Raonic is the headliner. But he’s not the only Canadian on fire at Wimbledon this week.
Denis Shapovalov, a 17-year-old who hails from Richmond Hill, Ont. (just a stone's throw from Raonic's hometown of Thornhill) reached the boys’ singles final after an impressive 4-6, 7-6 (5), 6-2 win over world No. 1 junior Stefanos Tsitsipas earlier in the day.
Shapovalov then teamed up with Félix Auger-Aliassime to defeat Youssef Hossam of Egypt and Ergi Kirkin of Turkey 6-0, 7-6 (0) to advance to the doubles semi-finals.
The reigning US Open junior champions are the top seeds while Vancouver’s Ben Sigouin, teamed with Louis Wessels of Germany as the No. 4 seeds, also are in Saturday’s semi-finals. They won't play each other, and so could all be in Sunday's final if things go right.
Here's how everyone looked Friday.
The last Canadian junior boy to win a Grand Slam title was Filip Peliwo, who took Wimbledon and the US Open in 2012, the year Genie Bouchard won the girls’ title at the All-England Club.
The only all-Canadian duo to win the boys’ doubles title at Wimbledon was Sébastian Lareau and Sébastian Leblanc, back in 1990. Greg Rusedski, Frank Dancevic and Jocelyn Robichaud have all won with non-Canadian partners.
So the weekend is shaping up nicely on the male side of things – especially after Shapovalov, who was in some serious trouble against Tsitsipas, rallied. He admittedly got pretty lucky in that second-set tiebreak and after that, got on a roll.
The match was played at a crazy level for a junior match in terms of all-court grass skills. There was plenty of serving and volleying, especially from Tsitsipas’ side. Both players (armed with their one-handed backhands) attacked the net at every opportunity.
“I think I stayed mentally tougher in the important points than he did. Today, I feel he was the better player on the court. Of course I played some very good points also, but I think in the end it was all mental, and I just managed to stay a little bit stronger,” Shapovalov said.
The two met on clay at the French Open last month, with Shapovalov winning 6-4, 6-2. But the circumstances were quite different. At that point, Tsitsipas was visibly gassed after playing three Futures tournaments before coming to Paris. This time, he was the fresher of the two as Shapovalov won the tune-up tournament last week in Roehampton, and also reached the semis in doubles with Auger-Aliassime.
“(The mental toughness) is one of the points he’s really improved. In a match like today, it’s important for him to stay calm and in the present. I think Stefanos really played good tennis, I was really impressed with his level of play,” Auger-Aliassime said of his good friend and partner. “Denis stayed calm and really composed and in the third set, he went to another level.”
As Shapovalov and Auger-Aliassime were warming up for their doubles match on Court 12, the Raonic-Roger Federer tussle was going on in the distance on Centre Court.
But right next door on Court 2, there was a viewing party set up with the fans watching the men’s semi-final on the big screen. The loudspeakers were blaring the sound from inside the big court.
“We could hear all the scores,” Auger-Aliassime said. “But the important thing was to stay concentrated on our own match. We had a job to do.”
Both are impressed at how Raonic has stepped up his game.
“He’s constantly improving. He has an exceptional work ethic. What also impresses me is his goal. He’s said it: he wants to be No. 1, win Grand Slams, and he won’t stop until he reaches his goal. It’s a model for us,” Auger-Aliassime said.
“He started off on tour having a big serve, sometimes a big forehand. But now he’s improved the backhand, he’s improved his volleys, he’s moving so much better on the court right now, Shapovalov said. “It just shows you how much work he’s put into everything. I see him in the gym, he’s doing so many exercises that I don’t see any other pros doing.”
The boys will play their doubles semi-finals Saturday, with Shapovalov having a day off from singles.
Come Sunday, if they get through, he will have a busy day with both singles and doubles finals.
Auger-Aliassime might be available for a little morning warmup, though, if Raonic is interested in paying it forward a little bit.
But beware: the 15-year-old’s record in that area isn’t sterling.
He warmed up Raonic at the Rogers Cup last summer in Montreal for his match against big-serving Croat Ivo Karlovic. The result: a Raonic defeat
Earlier here at Wimbledon, Auger-Aliassime also warmed up Aussie Nick Kyrgios before his match against Andy Murray. We know how that one turned out.
Perhaps it’s best not to tempt fate.
(Note - Shapovalov will make his ATP Tour debut in just over a week at the stop in Washington, D.C., the Citi Open. The kid is being wooed by all the agencies these days and Lagardère, which owns that tournament, is dangling a nice little carrot).
