Denis Shapovalov, a qualifier at the 2017 US Open, continued his winning ways on Monday after winning three matches at Flushing Meadows last week. Shapovalov played and defeated 21-year old Daniil Medvedev in the first round in day-one action. The Canadian posted a very convincing score in the match as well, at 7-5, 6-1, 6-2. Next up for Shapovalov is what promises to be a tougher test as the Canadian will face France's Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in round two later this week.
Tsonga a tough read at this point
Tsonga himself enjoyed a straight-sets win on Monday, advancing through Marius Copil 6-3, 6-3, 6-4.
The French player had some very impressive results earlier this season, results that included a title at Rotterdam, a 500-series event on tour. But Tsonga has not played well in recent events, losing early at Wimbledon, at the Rogers Cup, and at the Western & Southern Open. If you were to pick a player that was doing better on short-term form between Tsonga and Shapovalov then it would certainly be the latter. However the match is interesting in that Tsonga is the much more proven player.
Shapovalov has a lot of momentum
Shapovalov, after making a huge move with his run to the Montreal semifinals, is moving up in the rankings once again. The three wins in the qualifying draw bring some small change for ranking points.
Furthermore there's some more small change from winning his first-round match in the main draw. Shapovalov entered this week as the World No. 69 and projects to gain about seven spots if he does no better at Flushing Meadows than his current spot in the 2nd round. However if the Canadian can best Tsonga then Shapovalov would eliminate the 8th seed in the tournament and have a look at making the quarterfinals without having to face anyone of a higher seed than that.
Given Tsonga's recent losses to Renzo Olivo, Gilles Muller, Sam Querrey (x2), and Ivo Karlovic the second-round match between the French player and the Canadian player has to be considered an open one. In fact, that section of the draw does not have a clear favorite to make the quarterfinal. Furthermore, Marin Cilic is the top seed in the entire quarter.
Cilic also won his match on Monday, but he remains unclear in terms of where his tennis is at. He has been injured and off tour since the Wimbledon final with the exception of Monday's match where he only bested Tennys Sandgren. This is a quarter of the draw that may produce a surprising semifinalist with the winner between Shapovalov and Tsonga surely emerging as a key player with hopes to run deep at the 2017 Us Open.
