Novak Djokovic cited as reason Shapovalov could win Grand Slams with Murray coach in tow

Denis Shapovalov wins first ATP title at Stockholm Open

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Denis Shapovalov has been tipped to become a Grand Slam champion by Serena Williams’ coach Patrick Mouratoglou. The 22-year-old recently started working with Andy Murray’s former coach of five years, and defeated world No 3 Alexander Zverev in the Australian Open before pushing eventual champion Rafael Nadal to five sets. But it’s a loss to Novak Djokovic that the French coach believes shows Shapovalov’s potential.

Shapovalov has long been tipped as one of the most exciting young prospects in tennis, ever since he defeated Rafael Nadal as an 18-year-old wildcard at the Montreal Masters while ranked outside of the world’s top 140 – his breakthrough moment.

The Canadian has one ATP title to his name winning the Stockholm Open back in 2019, and cracked the top ten last year.

His 2022 season has already gotten off to a successful start after Shapovalov tested positive for Covid upon arrival in Australia at the end of December, as he bounced back to win the ATP Cup for Canada alongside compatriot and childhood friend Felix Auger-Aliassime, and made a strong showing at the Australian Open.

The 22-year-old linked up with Jamie Delgado during the off-season, after the Brit parted ways with Andy Murray after five-and-a-half years, and their partnership has proven successful so far.

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Having never made it past the first week in Melbourne Park, the world No 12 made it to the fourth round for the first time, where he defeated world No 3 Alexander Zverev in straight sets before facing Nadal in the quarters, where he managed to turn the match around from two sets down before falling in five.

“Denis Shapovalov will win Grand Slams,” the man who coaches 23-time Grand Slam champion Serena Williams said, speaking for Tennis Majors.

“When you see him play, he really wants it.”

Mouratoglou, who also acts as a coach for other tennis players training at his academy including Stefanos Tsitsipas and Coco Gauff, compared the Canadian to his own young charge.

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He continued: “He takes a lot of risk and I think it’s his game – that’s also why he needs a bit more time to deal with his incredible power, use it when it’s the right thing to do and use it a bit less when it’s time to put the ball in play.

“For his style of game, I think it takes more time. A bit like Stefanos Tsitsipas: those players that are much more aggressive, powerful and taking more risks. It takes more time, but the margin for progression is still incredible.”

With Murray’s coach now in Shapovalov’s corner, the Canadian will benefit from someone who has experience

But it wasn’t Shapovalov’s recent victories that convinced the Frenchman, who instead cited the world No 12’s devastating semi-final loss to Novak Djokovic at Wimbledon last year.

“The fact that he needed, like three or four months to recover from a loss against Novak I know it’s going to sound strange, but I see it as a very positive sign.

“I’ve seen players do a great result in one tournament and be extremely happy, and some others, (like) Stefanos Tsitsipas in the past, same for Denis, it’s never enough. It was his first semis in a grand slam. He loses against probably the greatest player of all time, Novak, and he is destroyed.”

Explaining the reason it was a good sign that the likes of Shapovalov and Tsitsipas took those losses hard, Mouratoglou added: “Same with Stefanos, when he lost in semi-finals of the Australian Open a few years back against Rafa. He was destroyed that he lost this match. That’s a good sign. It shows that they put their goals extremely high.”

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