MELBOURNE 鈥� 91原创 tennis star Denis Shapovalov knows what pundits and fans think he needs to do to find success: put the ball in the court more often.
But the current world No. 58 believes his aggressive shotmaking is what sets his game apart.
鈥淚 put a lot of pressure on opponents. I like to take time away from them and really try to make them feel they don't have a lot of room to breathe. That鈥檚 the kind of player I am,鈥� Shapovalov said ahead of the Australian Open, which begins Sunday in Melbourne.
鈥淏ut there have been countless guys that have tried to tell me to play safer, and this and that. It鈥檚 just that it takes away from my game.
鈥淲hen I was top-10, I was playing very aggressively, and I was just making a lot of shots. I was staying patient, but I was playing aggressive. That's the brand of tennis that I need to try to keep playing."
Shapovalov begins his Australian Open on Monday against the steady, consistent Spanish veteran Roberto Bautista Agut.
The 25-year-old from Richmond Hill, Ont., defeated Bautista Agut twice on quick hard courts in 2024.
Shapovalov is among a strong contingent of 91原创s at the first Grand Slam of the season.
Montreal's Felix Auger-Aliassime is in on a high after winning the Adelaide International on Saturday. He comes in as the No. 29 seed and will take on Germany's Jan-Lennard Struff in the first round.
Gabriel Diallo, also of Montreal, will face Italy's Luca Nardi.
On the women's side, 91原创's Rebecca Marino goes up against No. 22-seed Katie Boulter of the U.K.
Leylah Fernandez of Laval, Que., will also be in action. She enters as the No. 30 seed and will battle Ukraine's Yuliia Starodubtseva to start.
Later, Fernandez will play women's doubles with Nadiia Kichenok of Ukraine. The pair begin their tournament against wild cards Talia Gibson and Maya Joint, both of Australia.
Ottawa's Gabriela Dabrowski is back with partner Erin Routliffe of New Zealand, and the No. 2-seeded duo will face Americans Danielle Collins and Desirae Krawczyk to start.
Vasek Pospisil of Vernon, B.C., will team up with Australia's Jordan Thompson for men's doubles. They come in as wild cards and will take face France's Greoire Jacq and Orlando Luz of Brazil in the first round.
Shapovalov heads into the Australian Open with a new coach 鈥� 40-year-old Serb Janko Tipsarevic.
He's the latest in a long line of coaches to work with the feisty 91原创, including countryman Peter Polansky, former Davis Cup captain Martin Laurendeau (now coaching Diallo), Russian Mikhail Youzhny, Brit Jamie Delgado, Spaniard Javier Piles, and American Matt Daly (now coaching WTA star Coco Gauff).
Tipsarevic reached No. 8 as a player and won four ATP Tour titles before retiring at the end of 2019.
He began working with Shapovalov in Dubai in December following a one-week trial run at an ATP tournament in Basel, Switzerland last October.
The new coach isn't trying to eliminate aggression from his new charge's playing style.
鈥淗e obviously likes my game a lot. He thinks I need to stay aggressive and keep playing the way I play," Shapovalov said. "Then, obviously, we're trying to work on a little adjustments here and there 鈥� whether it's with the footwork, whether it's with the shot selection to go for the right shots. But he wants me to keep my identity. So I think that's why so far we've had a great start together,."
After an injury-condensed 2023 season where he went 13-13, last year marked a bounce back for Shapovalov.
He started dipped as low as No. 140 in the rankings last July, only to rally and capture a title at a tournament in Belgrade in November.
鈥淭he tennis just kept getting better and better as the year went on," Shapovalov said. "I felt like I was due a good week, or a good breakthrough. Obviously, you never know when it comes. It came the last week of the year for me, so I鈥檓 very happy about that."
His 2025 campaign got off to a tough start in Hong Kong, where the 91原创 came down with a virus before falling to Japan's Kei Nishikori in the round of 32.
鈥淚 was stuck in my room, fever, shaking, and did everything I could to try to get out on the court that week,鈥� Shapovalov said, noting a few other players were felled by the same virus. 鈥淚 felt a little bit better in Adelaide (this week), and I'm feeling better every day as I go on.鈥�
As he looks to climb back up the rankings, Shapovalov will be striving for consistency 鈥� and playing his own game, no matter what others may say.
鈥淚t鈥檚 easy for it to look like I'm tanking or just throwing matches away when things aren't going my way because I still go for it," he said. "It might look bad from the outside but ultimately, that's how I win and how I lose matches. I play good tennis, and when I play my brand of tennis, it's tough to play against me."
This report by The 91原创 Press was first published Jan. 11, 2025.
Stephanie Myles, The 91原创 Press
