Denis Shapovalov is scheduled to compete in the third match of the day on Court No. 11 at the 2017 Us Open. The Canadian teenager is currently ranked in the top 70 and that has some wondering why it is that he has to toil in the qualifiers to begin with. The reason is that Shapovalov only recently ascended in the rankings and was not ranked high enough when the US Open's entry list was made. While one might think that making the semifinals of the 2017 Rogers Cup should qualify one for the US Open, it doesn't. Shapovalov will need to win on Thursday in order to keep his hope of making the main draw of the US Open alive this season.
Shapovalov to face Gastao Ellis
Shapovalov will face Portuguese veteran Gastao Ellis, a 27-year old that has only made the main draw of the US Open one time. Shapovalov, seeded 2nd and having beaten much more accomplished players in Montreal two weeks ago, will certainly treat the young Canadian as the favorite in the match. If he should qualify for the main draw then he would make his Flushing Meadows debut after making his Wimbledon and Grand Slam debut earlier this summer. He has yet to win a match inside of any Grand Slam main draw at this early point in his career.
To survive the qualifying draw in New York one has to survive three rounds. The Ellis match is the 2nd round for Shapovalov and looking ahead for the Canadian he would not have to face an experienced player in the final round, should he make it that far.
Mackenzie MacDonald and Jan Satral share a path to the main draw with Shapovalov, two players that combine for two Grand Slam main-draw entries in their careers. Fans of Canadian tennis will also find Felix Auger-Aliassime and Peter Polansky on the order of play for the men's qualifying tournament on Thursday. The former recently turned 17 years old, while the latter is a veteran that has been playing above his normal standard of late.
Mahut and Mayer also in action
Other big names in the men's qualifying draw that will be active on Thursday include Nicolas Mahut and Leonardo Mayer. The former is a veteran of numerous Grand Slams, although he is becoming more of a doubles player now. Mayer, one of the best players in the qualifying draw, is actually playing well right now as he recently won a tour-level title in Hamburg to inject some momentum back into his career.
Mayer is like Shapovalov in the sense that both players have a significant accolade in recent times and yet still need to earn their spot in the Grand Slam's main draw. Mikhail Kukushkin is also on the order of play for Flushing Meadows, qualifying on Thursday as the 6th seed looks for his 8th straight appearance at the US Open.
