Denis Shapovalov is a quarterfinalist again.
The Canadian wild card rallied to beat No.12 Miomir Kecmanovic 4-6, 6-4, 6-2 on Stadium Court Thursday, reaching his first quarterfinal of the year and his first since returning from a six-month absence while nursing a knee injury.
“I’m definitely very happy,” Shapovalov said, after reaching his 38th career quarterfinal, but his first since January 2023 (Adelaide).
“It’s been a long way back since my injury so I’m definitely happy to be playing the way that I am and to get the win today means a lot. We’ve been putting in a lot of work, me and the team, so it’s a big accomplishment and hopefully I can keep going.”
Shapovalov, who made his ATP debut in Washington in 2016, has quietly impressed this week. He dropped a total of just eight games and was never broken in earning straight-set wins over Roberto Bautista Agut and No.6 Adrian Mannarino earlier in the week. The early-round triumphs marked the first time this year Shapovalov went consecutive matches without dropping a set.
Shapovalov then fired eight aces and 35 winners while rallying from a set down to beat Kecmanovic for his 197th career match win.
“I’ve been really liking the conditions here, it plays quick and definitely suits my game pretty well,” said the former World No.10.
“I can take advantage of my serve and my aggressive game and for sure I think the conditions are suiting me great and I feel like everything is clicking and coming together. I’ve had some great opponents this week and I’ve been able to get past them. So, these are definitely great signs for me.”
While Shapovalov, 25, has loftier goals than a berth in a 500 quarterfinal, he was still able to take a step back Thursday and appreciate the benchmark given where he was a year ago.
“It’s definitely great to be back in a quarterfinal,” he said. “It’s been a goal of mine throughout this season to try to get into deeper stages of tournaments and try to beat some good players. I’m happy I was able to do that today and hopefully try to do this more often.”
A 2021 Wimbledon semifinalist, Shapovalov says he doesn’t look back on the time he missed last year as a negative. He instead points to the opportunities it presented him to spend more time with friends and family and to enjoy life off the court.
“Much different this year being on the court,” he said, “but I’m grateful that I had the time last year to take some time off. Obviously, it wasn’t ideal because it was an injury, but it gave me a chance to see a different perspective and I’m definitely grateful for that.
“It definitely helped me see how short the athlete career can be and how much we can take things for granted. It can be over in one second. So, definitely very lucky to be back where I am and very grateful that I’ve been able to play pain free and push my body.
Now Shapovalov will look to keep pushing with a quarterfinal date looming against one of No.2-seed Ben Shelton or No.13 Brendan Nakashima.
A Shapovalov-Shelton meeting would be a rematch of their third-round showdown at Wimbledon last month, in which Shelton prevailed in five sets.
At stake for Shapovalov Friday? His first semifinal berth in nearly two years.
