Denis Shapovalov is enjoying a resurgence in the second half of 2024.
The 25-year-old Canadian shot to fame in 2017, breaking into the top 15 in 2019, rising to as high as 10th in the world rankings in 2020 and reaching the Wimbledon semi-finals in 2021, but it’s been an eventful year for Shapovalov since then.
Shapovalov had a decent season in 2022 before struggling with injuries in the 2023 season.
The Toronto native missed the entire North American hard court season.
A long absence would always be devastating for Shapovalov, a shot-maker who plays a high-risk, high-reward game.
If he makes too many self-destructive errors or gets out of rhythm, he won’t be able to play to his strengths.
That’s why it wouldn’t be surprising if Shapovalov gets off to a slow start in 2024.
It will likely be six months before Shapovalov starts to get back on track, but things certainly seem to be turning around.
He had some promising results on grass, then fought back from a loss to David Goffin at the ATP Atlanta with impressive wins over Roberto Bautista Agut and Adrian Mannarino at the ATP Washington.
Shapovalov’s recent form has drawn attention, propelling him to a 175-point advantage over Miomir Kecmanovic heading into Thursday’s quarterfinals of the Mubadala City DC Open in Washington DC.
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Shapovalov’s game is still too volatile to bet this kind of profit on the moneyline, but if Shapovalov is fully healthy and in form, he could certainly push an out-of-form Kecmanovic off the court in this match.
This increases the likelihood of the game being a shutout victory for the in-form Canadian team.
play: Shapovalov -1.5 sets (+140, DraftKings).
