Denis Shapovalov suffered a defeat on Sunday at the 2017 US Open. In the first 4th-round match that was played in men's singles The Canadian lost to Pablo Carreno Busta in straight sets 7-6, 7-6, 7-6. The sets were all competitive but the Spaniard consistently had the better groundstrokes in the tense moments. As a result he will advance into the quarterfinals for the second time in his Grand Slam career. Like all players alive in the bottom half of the draw, Carreno Busta has to be thinking about making his first appearance in a Grand Slam final.
For Shapovalov it's about looking ahead to the future now with a ranking that will get him into big events directly instead of having to worry about qualifiers or wild cards.
Shapovalov eyes the top 50
When the new rankings roll around next week following the completion of the 2017 US Open Shapovalov projects to be in the top 55. That will be a career-high ranking for him following his best-ever showing in a Grand Slam event. Shapovalov won six matches at Flushing Meadows this season, three in qualifying and then three in the main draw. That brings 205 ranking points, a total that comes from 25 for qualifying and 180 for the 4th-round exit in the main draw. Perhaps if Shapovalov didn't have to toil in the qualifying matches last week he would have had more energy deep in the sets against Pablo Carreno Busta.
But the Spaniard is also eight years old and more experienced than Shapovalov. That the Canadian has improved his ranking such that qualifiers will no longer be necessary for Grand Slams bodes well for his future success in the big-time tournaments.
Still over two months left in season
While, for all players not remaining in the Flushing Meadows draw, Grand Slams are over for 2017 there are some significant tournaments remaining to be played this season.
Those include the Paris Masters and the Shanghai Masters. An approximate ranking of World No. 55 is still a little low for direct acceptance into those events. For instance last season the last direct entry for Shanghai was ranked 52nd. However Shapovalov has a ranking that should compete for direct entry into a lot of the smaller events on tour for the balance of the season.
If he continues to play well then a season-ending ranking in the top 35 is certainly not out of the question.
The last month has really been a break-out month for the 18 year old. He made the semifinals of the Rogers Cup, beating both Juan Martin del Potro and Rafael Nadal en route. In the US Open main draw the Canadian notched a win over Jo-Wilfried Tsonga. Now having played in the fourth round of a Grand Slam at the US Open, Shapovalov should be a player that tennis fans are going to know well. In short, in less than a month he has gone from obscurity to earning some modest fame.
