The rising star of Canadian tennis, who plays a high-risk style, can heat up the atmosphere in a match by hitting a stunning winning shot, highlighting his most daring shots with a shout or waving his fist in the air.
Shapovalov will have to find a way to create his own spark when he returns to the game, however. The Ontarian will participate next week in the Cincinnati tournament, which will be held this year in New York, in the same sanitary bubble as the United States Open. , just before the grand slam tournament.
Players and coaches will be kept away from the public and no supporters will be allowed to attend games due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
It’s going to be interesting to see how the situation plays out, without the supporters, especially here in New York, Shapovalov said in an interview on Wednesday. I feel like I have so much love and support in this city. And in recent years, I have been able to animate very large crowds.
It’s going to be special, but I’ll definitely feel their support across the screens, on the internet … I know they’re always there with me while I’m on the court.
Shapovalov said playing in a stadium with little atmosphere is nothing new. According to him, tennis players often compete against each other in tournaments with few fans in the stands in the lower tiers.
We will see how it goes, it will be the same situation for everyone, he added. We’ve all been through this before going through the Challengers and the like, tournaments where there’s hardly anyone watching.
Still, he mentioned that he couldn’t wait to find himself on a court. The 16th player in the world has not played in an ATP tournament since February 21. He then bowed to Alexander Bublik, in the quarterfinals of the Provence tournament, which took place in Marseille, France.
Some players, however, were more cautious at the idea of returning to the courts, because the coronavirus is still running. Six of the top eight players in the world have withdrawn from the first major tournament to be played since the shutdown. Her compatriot Bianca Andreescu is part of the lot. The Ontarian chose not to defend her title.
