On Thursday night at Uniprix Stadium, Canadian teenager Denis Shapovalov earned the biggest win of his career when he defeated world no.1 Rafael Nadal in three sets (3-6, 6-4, 7-6 (4)) at Rogers Cup presented by National Bank.
When the epic battle, which went on for nearly three hours (2:46), finally came to an end, the crowd gave Shapovalov a boisterous ovation on Centre Court.
At 18 years and four months, Shapovalov becomes the second youngest player in history to defeat Rafael Nadal. Two years ago, Borna Coric got the better of the Spaniard, who was not in the fine shape he is today.
Shapovalov is youngest #ATPMasters1000 quarter-finalist ever and 2nd-youngest player to defeat Nadal (@Borna_Coric at 2014 @_Swiss_Indoors).
— ATP Media Info (@ATPMediaInfo) August 11, 2017
True to form, the Canadian won all the important points and served masterfully in the key moments. He fought off 9 of 11 break points and hit spectacular shots when the tension was highest. Their meeting was especially tight: the Spaniard racked up 115 points versus 110 for the winner.
Nadal will therefore have to wait at least one more week to reclaim the world no.1 ranking he would have earned if he had played in the semifinal.
In the quarterfinals on Friday, Shapovalov will take on Adrian Mannarino of France, who disposed of Hyeon Chung of South Korea in two sets (6-3, 6-3) after ousting Milos Raonic.
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