Canadian Denis Shapovalov stuns the world defeating Rafael Nadal at Rogers Cup

After Milos Raonic was elminated in his opening match, Denis Shapovalov made headlines upsetting Rafael Nadal in the third round of the Rogers Cup.

After Milos Raonic and Eugenie Bouchard were ousted from the Rogers Cup, Denis Shapovalov came in to save the day in a big way. The 18-year old eliminated the second-ranked tennis player, Rafael Nadal in a three set duel in front of a roaring crowd in Montreal.

https://twitter.com/TennisTV/status/895844686400716800

The Richmond Hill, Ont. native has been touted as the next big thing in Canadian tennis and it appears that he is ready to make a name for himself. Shapovalov beat Nadal 3-6, 6-4,7-6 to advance to the quarterfinals where he will take on Adrian Mannarino from France. This was also a lost opportunity for Nadal who could have overtaken the number one ranking if he had reached the semifinals of the tournament.

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It will be a tough road for Shapovalov to reach the final especially if he were to go up against Roger Federer who is playing some of his best tennis of late. However, it appears that even the biggest stars can have an off day which provides a player like Shapovalov an opportunity. Raonic was the last Canadian to make the final back in 2013 when he lost in straight sets to Nadal and has not made it back since. The Thornhill was also the youngest Canadian to reach the round of 16 of a Master Series tournament. 

Growing up, Shapovalov was a big Toronto Maple Leafs fan and said that he would probably be playing hockey if he was not playing tennis. He captured the 2016 Wimbeldon junior title which he has been working hard to regain momentum from. He was a big Wayne Gretzky fan who was in attendance for the Canadian’s triumphant victory.

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He was originally born in Tel Aviv Israel, but his parents decided to move to Toronto due to the dangerous living conditions. He defeated Rogerio Dutra Silve and Juan Marin Del Poro (2009 U.S. Open champion) which led to his victory on Thursday night. For one night at least, the young Canadian had the country talking about someone other than Raonic and Bouchard. With him being a young star, it will be interesting to see where this takes him for the rest of the tournament and beyond.