LONDON: Denis Shapovalov capped off his remarkable first year on the ATP World Tour picking up two pieces of hardware on Saturday afternoon. Shapovalov, just 18-years old from Richmond Hill, Ontario Canada just outside of Toronto, was presented on court at the Nitto ATP Finals with the ATP Star of Tomorrow award as well as the Most Improved Player award.
Shapovalov started the season at No 250 in the ATP Rankings but thanks to a remarkable run at his home tournament, the Masters 1000 event in Montreal along with an impressive effort at the US Open he vaulted into the Top 50.
Shapovalov, entered as a wild card, defeated Juan Martin Del Potro, Rafael Nadal and Adrian Mannarino to reach the semi-finals before losing to Alexander Zverev. He became the youngest quarter-finalist at the event since 1974 (Borg) and he also became the youngest semi-finalist in ATP Masters 1000 history.
Two weeks later, he went through three rounds of qualifying to reach the main draw in New York and then reached the 4th round before losing to Pablo Carreno Busta.
More pics of Denis Shapovalov 🇨🇦 getting his #ATP Star of Tomorrow & Most Improved Player Awards at the #NittoATPFinals on Saturday pic.twitter.com/xUlW9njuqm
— John Horn (@SportsHorn) November 18, 2017
The Star of Tomorrow award goes to the youngest player inside the Top 100 in the ATP Rankings at the end of the year.
“This is incredible – first of all to be here and to win these awards,” said Shapovalov during the on court ceremony. “I have worked so hard this year and I hope to be among the Top 8 one year. I will attempt to do everything I can to be here, it would be a dream come true. I definitely want to win an ATP World Tour title next year and finish in the Top 25, if everything goes well.”
Other moments for Shapovalov in 2017 included his first main draw match at Wimbledon, two singles victories helping Canada to a win in a Davis Cup tie, being invited to play in the Laver Cup for the World Team and playing in the season ending ATP Next Generation tournament in Milan.
Even after such a great year, there is still room for improvement according to the World No. 51. After his run at Flushing Meadows, Shapovalov did lose 6 of his final 8 ATP matches of the year.
“It’s incredible my whole team has put in so much effort. I’m gonna go down to train in Florida. My forehand is my big weapon but it has to improve, My slice has to improve, volleys. Make sure my steps are sharp. The second part of the season, it was difficult, running through some difficult draws, losing my rhythm. Towards the end, at the Next Gen Finals I felt my game coming back even though I lost to Rublev”
In a nice moment of sportsmanship as the award ceremony began, David Goffin fresh off his upset win over Roger Federer, stayed on court while Shapovalov was honoured.
