FEATURES
DENIS SHAPOVALOV Richmond Hill native Denis Shapovalov has made Canadian history, becoming the youngest Canadian junior tennis player to win the 2016 Wimbledon Junior Tournament. Recently, Denis achieved a career high ATP singles ranking of No. 371, and another career high ITF junior ranking at No. 2. In 2015, Denis won the 2015 US Open Junior Doubles title, as he placed number one with fellow teammate Felix Auger-Aliassime. He’s truly on the right path to becoming one of the most dominant Canadian tennis players to have ever played the game.
junior Wimbledon Champion
FACES Magazine had the opportunity to join in on an interview with the tennis star to discuss his road to 2016 Wimbledon, his thoughts on becoming the youngest Canadian tennis player to win the Wimbledon for juniors, and to discuss his future in the world of tennis. Who has been your tennis role model growing up, and why? I looked up to Roger Federer a lot. I try to perfect my game to be like his and I try to play like him...just the way he acts on the court is very inspiring to me. I hope to be able to achieve what he’s achieved. What is it like to partner up with a past competitor, Felix Auger-Aliassime? Although we’ve met on the court as rivals, we are also very good friends—he’s practically a brother to me. So, that part makes it easy to play doubles together. Because we’re so close, we correct each other on the court, and tell each other when or when not to go for shots. I think that’s why we make such a good doubles team. Who was the first person you called after winning the 2016 Wimbledon junior singles title? How did it feel? It was unbelievable. The feeling is just indescribable really, it all kind of hit me at once. The first people I called after were my parents, of course. They were just so filled with joy. I knew how nervous they had been while watching me so it was very good for them. What was the atmosphere like while you were playing on Court 1 at the 2016 Wimbledon junior tournament? It was very tough at the start. I’ve never played on such a big court with so many fans watching me, so it was very tough for me to play my very best game from the beginning. I think as the match went on, I settled down and tried to focus on the match rather than all of the fans there, and I managed to play some good tennis.
It was unbelievable. The feeling is just indescribable really; 6 | August 2016