Finishing last season on a high gave Canadian Denis Shapovalov a bit more motivation as he looks ahead to the 2023 season.
Shapovalov overcame a summer slump by reaching two ATP Tour finals in the fall and capped off his season by helping Canada win the first Davis Cup in its history.
The results left him feeling confident and determined to compete at the next Australian Open.
There are still a lot of things to try to accomplish, to put in place and I am still working in this direction. But I really feel like a more complete player than last year or the previous ones. My game definitely falls into place.
Denis Shapovalov
The 23-year-old Ontarian reached the top 10 in 2020, but his ranking has mostly hovered between 11 and 19 since then.
He slipped a bit lower in the standings last year, after a tough nine-game losing streak in 10 games. A strong comeback at the end of the season propelled him to 18e rank in the year-end ranking.
Shapovalov, ranked 20e, and Quebec’s Félix Auger-Aliassime, sixth racket in the world, are the only Canadians to be seeded in singles at the first Grand Slam tournament of the year. The first main draw matches will take place on Monday in Melbourne.
Shapovalov faces Serbian Dusan Lajovic while Auger-Aliassime was scheduled to take on compatriot Vasek Pospisil of British Columbia.
Four Canadians are entered in singles in the main draw. British Columbian Rebecca Marino, Ontarian Bianca Andreescu and Quebecer Leylah Fernandez are joined by Ontario qualifier Katherine Sebov.
Ontario’s Gabriela Dabrowski, seventh in the world in women’s doubles, is Canada’s doubles headliner. The doubles main draw has yet to be announced.
Shapovalov won his only ATP title in Stockholm in 2019 and reached the Paris Masters final later that season.
He was a runner-up twice in 2021 and made two more finals last October, losing to Japan’s Yoshihito Nishioka (then ranked 56e) in Seoul and against Russian Daniil Medvedev (then ranked fourth) in Vienna.
Shapovalov’s aggressive downfield play can force opponents into a more defensive style. The challenge for the southpaw can be finding a balance between high-risk shots and consistency in their game.
I always want to give it a shot and play big, but it’s probably not necessary against all players. Against good players, that’s probably when I’ll have to use those kinds of shots a bit more.
Denis Shapovalov
“Against the lower ranked players, it’s about putting up a solid game that I can win 90 or 95% of the time. I think that’s something I was able to do much better. »
Shapovalov reached the quarter-finals in Melbourne last season, which was his best Grand Slam performance since a semi-final appearance at Wimbledon in 2021.
He feels quite comfortable on the hard surfaces of Melbourne Park.
“It really suits my game,” Shapovalov said. I always felt like I played well in Australia, whether before the major tournament or during this one. So I really feel like my chances are good here. »
Fernandez is the highest-ranked Canadian in women’s singles, at 39e rank. She must start the tournament against the French Alizé Cornet.
Andreescu, 42e in the world, must cross swords with the Czech Marie Bouzkova while Marino, 66emust do battle with the Chinese Lin Zhu.
Sebov, the 191e world racket, won three qualifying matches to advance to the main draw. She will face fourth-seeded France Caroline Garcia in the first round.
