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Denis at Wimbledon, 2016

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Go Denis Go, Go Denis Go

Go Denis, Go Denis

Go Denis Go, Go Denis Go

Go Denis, Go Denis

Yeah!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

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Denis Shapovalov is the future of Canadian tennis.

He's only 18 and he just beat Rafael Nadal.

Last year he won the boy's title at Wimbledon.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RxzQhL1KP4I

 

It's possible. But IMHO it's way waaaaaaay too soon to be saying "future of Canadian tennis."

 

Here's why....

 

1) He's been on tour barely a year and has racked up a 3-7 CAREER record before the Canadian Open. That's it, 10 matches. His other pro matches have been in the minor leagues of tennis, the Challengers and Futures circuit.

 

2) Weren't you the one a year or two ago praising Raonic (or was it Bouchard?) and predicting one of them to be the next grand slam champ in something. Neither are much. And neither have much game. A booming serve is all that Milos truly has.

 

3) Being a Wimbledon junior champ isn't a good gauge of pro success. Here are the Wimbledon junior champs from 2006-2015:

 

2006- Thiemo de Bakker: currently ranked 400-something, 2-3 pro career at Wimbledon and lost twice in the qualification rounds

 

2007- Donald Young: ranked in the 50s, just a few years ago went 0-12 at one point

 

2008- Grigor Dimitrov: a talented top 20 player but still hasn't reached anywhere near what so many predicted for him, he's never even reached a Masters final

 

2009- Kuznetsov: ranked in the 70s, has a pro career at Wimbledon of 5-6 <----which is sadly a better record than most of these former Wimby Junior champs

 

2010- Fucsovics: ranked in the 100s, he's 0-1 at Wimbledon since winning the the junior title. That's right: he hasn't won a single match there since!

 

2011- Saville: Who?! I'm a pretty hardcore tennis fan and I've never even heard of this guy. Had to look him up to find that he's ranked in the 300s; 1-3 pro career at Wimbledon

 

2012- Peliwo: another 'Who?!' Ranked in the 200s, his best Wimbledon showing (post-junior title) was the 2nd round..of qualifying!!! Doesn't even look like he's made the main draw.

 

2013- Quinzi: yet another 'Who?!' Also ranked in the 200s, his best Wimby showing after the junior title was losing in the FIRST round of qualifying!!!

 

2014- Noah Rubin: Ok I do know this guy, he's ranked somewhere in the 100s. But he's never played Wimby as a pro. It's likely because he's always been ranked too low and couldn't even get an invitation to the qualification rounds

 

2015- Opelka: ranked in the 100s, best pro Wimby showing was losing in the first round of qualifiers this year. Yippee!

 

Dimitrov, Young, and Kuznetsov are easily the best three of these former Wimbledon junior champs...and Young and Kuznetsov are pretty below average pros.

 

 

Back to Shapalov, let's see how he handles the dangerous, young #8 ranked Zverev in the Canadian Open semis. Even more important is to see how Shapalov does in the next few tourneys.

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I hate how negative and toxic this forum has become.

 

What's negative and toxic about documented tennis results?

 

If you tell me that any of the former Wimbledon Junior champs I've mentioned besides Dimitrov is good you'd be lying or you don't follow tennis too closely.

 

Oh, and with Shapalov I only said that it's too soon to say he's the future.

Edited by JohnnyBlaze
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Denis Shapovalov is the future of Canadian tennis.

He's only 18 and he just beat Rafael Nadal.

Last year he won the boy's title at Wimbledon.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RxzQhL1KP4I

 

It's possible. But IMHO it's way waaaaaaay too soon to be saying "future of Canadian tennis."

 

Here's why....

 

1) He's been on tour barely a year and has racked up a 3-7 CAREER record before the Canadian Open. That's it, 10 matches. His other pro matches have been in the minor leagues of tennis, the Challengers and Futures circuit.

 

2) Weren't you the one a year or two ago praising Raonic (or was it Bouchard?) and predicting one of them to be the next grand slam champ in something. Neither are much. And neither have much game. A booming serve is all that Milos truly has.

 

3) Being a Wimbledon junior champ isn't a good gauge of pro success. Here are the Wimbledon junior champs from 2006-2015:

 

2006- Thiemo de Bakker: currently ranked 400-something, 2-3 pro career at Wimbledon and lost twice in the qualification rounds

 

2007- Donald Young: ranked in the 50s, just a few years ago went 0-12 at one point

 

2008- Grigor Dimitrov: a talented top 20 player but still hasn't reached anywhere near what so many predicted for him, he's never even reached a Masters final

 

2009- Kuznetsov: ranked in the 70s, has a pro career at Wimbledon of 5-6 <----which is sadly a better record than most of these former Wimby Junior champs

 

2010- Fucsovics: ranked in the 100s, he's 0-1 at Wimbledon since winning the the junior title. That's right: he hasn't won a single match there since!

 

2011- Saville: Who?! I'm a pretty hardcore tennis fan and I've never even heard of this guy. Had to look him up to find that he's ranked in the 300s; 1-3 pro career at Wimbledon

 

2012- Peliwo: another 'Who?!' Ranked in the 200s, his best Wimbledon showing (post-junior title) was the 2nd round..of qualifying!!! Doesn't even look like he's made the main draw.

 

2013- Quinzi: yet another 'Who?!' Also ranked in the 200s, his best Wimby showing after the junior title was losing in the FIRST round of qualifying!!!

 

2014- Noah Rubin: Ok I do know this guy, he's ranked somewhere in the 100s. But he's never played Wimby as a pro. It's likely because he's always been ranked too low and couldn't even get an invitation to the qualification rounds

 

2015- Opelka: ranked in the 100s, best pro Wimby showing was losing in the first round of qualifiers this year. Yippee!

 

Dimitrov, Young, and Kuznetsov are easily the best three of these former Wimbledon junior champs...and Young and Kuznetsov are pretty below average pros.

 

 

Back to Shapalov, let's see how he handles the dangerous, young #8 ranked Zverev in the Canadian Open semis. Even more important is to see how Shapalov does in the next few tourneys.

If you look at the past to see the future of Canadian tennis you'll see that there is no future...

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Denis Shapovalov is the future of Canadian tennis.

He's only 18 and he just beat Rafael Nadal.

Last year he won the boy's title at Wimbledon.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RxzQhL1KP4I

 

It's possible. But IMHO it's way waaaaaaay too soon to be saying "future of Canadian tennis."

 

Here's why....

 

1) He's been on tour barely a year and has racked up a 3-7 CAREER record before the Canadian Open. That's it, 10 matches. His other pro matches have been in the minor leagues of tennis, the Challengers and Futures circuit.

 

2) Weren't you the one a year or two ago praising Raonic (or was it Bouchard?) and predicting one of them to be the next grand slam champ in something. Neither are much. And neither have much game. A booming serve is all that Milos truly has.

 

3) Being a Wimbledon junior champ isn't a good gauge of pro success. Here are the Wimbledon junior champs from 2006-2015:

 

2006- Thiemo de Bakker: currently ranked 400-something, 2-3 pro career at Wimbledon and lost twice in the qualification rounds

 

2007- Donald Young: ranked in the 50s, just a few years ago went 0-12 at one point

 

2008- Grigor Dimitrov: a talented top 20 player but still hasn't reached anywhere near what so many predicted for him, he's never even reached a Masters final

 

2009- Kuznetsov: ranked in the 70s, has a pro career at Wimbledon of 5-6 <----which is sadly a better record than most of these former Wimby Junior champs

 

2010- Fucsovics: ranked in the 100s, he's 0-1 at Wimbledon since winning the the junior title. That's right: he hasn't won a single match there since!

 

2011- Saville: Who?! I'm a pretty hardcore tennis fan and I've never even heard of this guy. Had to look him up to find that he's ranked in the 300s; 1-3 pro career at Wimbledon

 

2012- Peliwo: another 'Who?!' Ranked in the 200s, his best Wimbledon showing (post-junior title) was the 2nd round..of qualifying!!! Doesn't even look like he's made the main draw.

 

2013- Quinzi: yet another 'Who?!' Also ranked in the 200s, his best Wimby showing after the junior title was losing in the FIRST round of qualifying!!!

 

2014- Noah Rubin: Ok I do know this guy, he's ranked somewhere in the 100s. But he's never played Wimby as a pro. It's likely because he's always been ranked too low and couldn't even get an invitation to the qualification rounds

 

2015- Opelka: ranked in the 100s, best pro Wimby showing was losing in the first round of qualifiers this year. Yippee!

 

Dimitrov, Young, and Kuznetsov are easily the best three of these former Wimbledon junior champs...and Young and Kuznetsov are pretty below average pros.

 

 

Back to Shapalov, let's see how he handles the dangerous, young #8 ranked Zverev in the Canadian Open semis. Even more important is to see how Shapalov does in the next few tourneys.

If you look at the past to see the future of Canadian tennis you'll see that there is no future...

Nah, here's the future of Canadian tennis...and it is bright!

 

http://www.rushisaband.com/images/201408/3167.f.jpg

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I hate how negative and toxic this forum has become.

 

And that starts with you Boots

 

What is "toxic" about Johnny Blaze's post ?? .. He took the time to RESPOND and he obviously knows about tennis - I fail to see the problem ..

 

This forum is incredibly well rounded and no matter what the topic, there will be people who can, and will, be able to carry on a conversation ..

 

Try to be one of them

 

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Denis Shapovalov is the future of Canadian tennis.

He's only 18 and he just beat Rafael Nadal.

Last year he won the boy's title at Wimbledon.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RxzQhL1KP4I

 

It's possible. But IMHO it's way waaaaaaay too soon to be saying "future of Canadian tennis."

 

Here's why....

 

1) He's been on tour barely a year and has racked up a 3-7 CAREER record before the Canadian Open. That's it, 10 matches. His other pro matches have been in the minor leagues of tennis, the Challengers and Futures circuit.

 

2) Weren't you the one a year or two ago praising Raonic (or was it Bouchard?) and predicting one of them to be the next grand slam champ in something. Neither are much. And neither have much game. A booming serve is all that Milos truly has.

 

3) Being a Wimbledon junior champ isn't a good gauge of pro success. Here are the Wimbledon junior champs from 2006-2015:

 

2006- Thiemo de Bakker: currently ranked 400-something, 2-3 pro career at Wimbledon and lost twice in the qualification rounds

 

2007- Donald Young: ranked in the 50s, just a few years ago went 0-12 at one point

 

2008- Grigor Dimitrov: a talented top 20 player but still hasn't reached anywhere near what so many predicted for him, he's never even reached a Masters final

 

2009- Kuznetsov: ranked in the 70s, has a pro career at Wimbledon of 5-6 <----which is sadly a better record than most of these former Wimby Junior champs

 

2010- Fucsovics: ranked in the 100s, he's 0-1 at Wimbledon since winning the the junior title. That's right: he hasn't won a single match there since!

 

2011- Saville: Who?! I'm a pretty hardcore tennis fan and I've never even heard of this guy. Had to look him up to find that he's ranked in the 300s; 1-3 pro career at Wimbledon

 

2012- Peliwo: another 'Who?!' Ranked in the 200s, his best Wimbledon showing (post-junior title) was the 2nd round..of qualifying!!! Doesn't even look like he's made the main draw.

 

2013- Quinzi: yet another 'Who?!' Also ranked in the 200s, his best Wimby showing after the junior title was losing in the FIRST round of qualifying!!!

 

2014- Noah Rubin: Ok I do know this guy, he's ranked somewhere in the 100s. But he's never played Wimby as a pro. It's likely because he's always been ranked too low and couldn't even get an invitation to the qualification rounds

 

2015- Opelka: ranked in the 100s, best pro Wimby showing was losing in the first round of qualifiers this year. Yippee!

 

Dimitrov, Young, and Kuznetsov are easily the best three of these former Wimbledon junior champs...and Young and Kuznetsov are pretty below average pros.

 

 

Back to Shapalov, let's see how he handles the dangerous, young #8 ranked Zverev in the Canadian Open semis. Even more important is to see how Shapalov does in the next few tourneys.

Didn't know you were into tennis that much. I assume you play? Tell us more.

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Denis Shapovalov is the future of Canadian tennis.

He's only 18 and he just beat Rafael Nadal.

Last year he won the boy's title at Wimbledon.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RxzQhL1KP4I

 

It's possible. But IMHO it's way waaaaaaay too soon to be saying "future of Canadian tennis."

 

Here's why....

 

1) He's been on tour barely a year and has racked up a 3-7 CAREER record before the Canadian Open. That's it, 10 matches. His other pro matches have been in the minor leagues of tennis, the Challengers and Futures circuit.

 

2) Weren't you the one a year or two ago praising Raonic (or was it Bouchard?) and predicting one of them to be the next grand slam champ in something. Neither are much. And neither have much game. A booming serve is all that Milos truly has.

 

3) Being a Wimbledon junior champ isn't a good gauge of pro success. Here are the Wimbledon junior champs from 2006-2015:

 

2006- Thiemo de Bakker: currently ranked 400-something, 2-3 pro career at Wimbledon and lost twice in the qualification rounds

 

2007- Donald Young: ranked in the 50s, just a few years ago went 0-12 at one point

 

2008- Grigor Dimitrov: a talented top 20 player but still hasn't reached anywhere near what so many predicted for him, he's never even reached a Masters final

 

2009- Kuznetsov: ranked in the 70s, has a pro career at Wimbledon of 5-6 <----which is sadly a better record than most of these former Wimby Junior champs

 

2010- Fucsovics: ranked in the 100s, he's 0-1 at Wimbledon since winning the the junior title. That's right: he hasn't won a single match there since!

 

2011- Saville: Who?! I'm a pretty hardcore tennis fan and I've never even heard of this guy. Had to look him up to find that he's ranked in the 300s; 1-3 pro career at Wimbledon

 

2012- Peliwo: another 'Who?!' Ranked in the 200s, his best Wimbledon showing (post-junior title) was the 2nd round..of qualifying!!! Doesn't even look like he's made the main draw.

 

2013- Quinzi: yet another 'Who?!' Also ranked in the 200s, his best Wimby showing after the junior title was losing in the FIRST round of qualifying!!!

 

2014- Noah Rubin: Ok I do know this guy, he's ranked somewhere in the 100s. But he's never played Wimby as a pro. It's likely because he's always been ranked too low and couldn't even get an invitation to the qualification rounds

 

2015- Opelka: ranked in the 100s, best pro Wimby showing was losing in the first round of qualifiers this year. Yippee!

 

Dimitrov, Young, and Kuznetsov are easily the best three of these former Wimbledon junior champs...and Young and Kuznetsov are pretty below average pros.

 

 

Back to Shapalov, let's see how he handles the dangerous, young #8 ranked Zverev in the Canadian Open semis. Even more important is to see how Shapalov does in the next few tourneys.

If you look at the past to see the future of Canadian tennis you'll see that there is no future...

 

The only Canadian males besides Raonic that have had a successful ATP career that I can think of offhand are Sebastian Lareau and Daniel Nestor. Both had career singles records under 50% (as a guess, they were probably around 40%). They were both more formidable as doubles players anyway. Nestor was so good at doubles that he's probably still playing. I know he's won at least 10 grand slam doubles titles in men's & mixed.

 

Oh, and Vasek Pospisil. He's probably had a more successful singles career than Lareau and Nestor. But that's not saying much. He, also, MUST be under .500. And, like Lareau and Nestor, he's a much better doubles player.

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Denis Shapovalov is the future of Canadian tennis.

He's only 18 and he just beat Rafael Nadal.

Last year he won the boy's title at Wimbledon.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RxzQhL1KP4I

 

It's possible. But IMHO it's way waaaaaaay too soon to be saying "future of Canadian tennis."

 

Here's why....

 

1) He's been on tour barely a year and has racked up a 3-7 CAREER record before the Canadian Open. That's it, 10 matches. His other pro matches have been in the minor leagues of tennis, the Challengers and Futures circuit.

 

2) Weren't you the one a year or two ago praising Raonic (or was it Bouchard?) and predicting one of them to be the next grand slam champ in something. Neither are much. And neither have much game. A booming serve is all that Milos truly has.

 

3) Being a Wimbledon junior champ isn't a good gauge of pro success. Here are the Wimbledon junior champs from 2006-2015:

 

2006- Thiemo de Bakker: currently ranked 400-something, 2-3 pro career at Wimbledon and lost twice in the qualification rounds

 

2007- Donald Young: ranked in the 50s, just a few years ago went 0-12 at one point

 

2008- Grigor Dimitrov: a talented top 20 player but still hasn't reached anywhere near what so many predicted for him, he's never even reached a Masters final

 

2009- Kuznetsov: ranked in the 70s, has a pro career at Wimbledon of 5-6 <----which is sadly a better record than most of these former Wimby Junior champs

 

2010- Fucsovics: ranked in the 100s, he's 0-1 at Wimbledon since winning the the junior title. That's right: he hasn't won a single match there since!

 

2011- Saville: Who?! I'm a pretty hardcore tennis fan and I've never even heard of this guy. Had to look him up to find that he's ranked in the 300s; 1-3 pro career at Wimbledon

 

2012- Peliwo: another 'Who?!' Ranked in the 200s, his best Wimbledon showing (post-junior title) was the 2nd round..of qualifying!!! Doesn't even look like he's made the main draw.

 

2013- Quinzi: yet another 'Who?!' Also ranked in the 200s, his best Wimby showing after the junior title was losing in the FIRST round of qualifying!!!

 

2014- Noah Rubin: Ok I do know this guy, he's ranked somewhere in the 100s. But he's never played Wimby as a pro. It's likely because he's always been ranked too low and couldn't even get an invitation to the qualification rounds

 

2015- Opelka: ranked in the 100s, best pro Wimby showing was losing in the first round of qualifiers this year. Yippee!

 

Dimitrov, Young, and Kuznetsov are easily the best three of these former Wimbledon junior champs...and Young and Kuznetsov are pretty below average pros.

 

 

Back to Shapalov, let's see how he handles the dangerous, young #8 ranked Zverev in the Canadian Open semis. Even more important is to see how Shapalov does in the next few tourneys.

Didn't know you were into tennis that much. I assume you play? Tell us more.

 

Okay, you asked for it! ;)

 

It's my favorite sport. I started watching in the early 80s when McEnroe was the man and Lendl was still slamless. Lendl's my favorite of all-time. He's an absolute machine who combined thoughtfulness & strategy with superior physical prowess that changed the very nature of tennis. That is, he is THE player that truly ushered in the power baseline game AND fitness to the game. And here's an impressive stat that's never been matched: 5 years of having a winning record of over 90%. However, he never seemed to get the credit or praise from fans for all of his victories. It's no surprise to me that Andy Murray's greatest years were under Ivan. To me, Lendl's very much the Rush of the tennis world.

 

What else? I started playing tennis right after high school with my then co-worker buddies. We used to work on a military base and play all night on the base's courts. Since not many people used them, the courts were in great condition. Oh, and by "all night", I meant we usually played from 8pm-2am. Singles, doubles, cut-throat, or mini-tourneys depending on how many of us showed up. We were playing 4-5 days a week and a crazy best 4 out of 7 set matches, so we got decent reasonably fast. In those years, the top players were Sampras, Edberg, and Courier. My favorite players to emulate then were Courier and Chang. Loved their grit and physicality. I had their two handed backhand because I thought it gave better control and power. I changed to single-handed in the late 90s. Sampras!

 

Later, when I left my hometown to transfer to a bigger university I joined city tennis associations and occasionally entered local USTA sponsored tourneys. I played less then previous years, maybe down to twice a week, but it was fun being part of a city league and also entering those singles tourneys. Don't be mistaken, I was nowhere near being great...a tennis player who played for their uni would've kicked my ass but it was a lot of fun and those were my fittest days. My city team (in Tallahassee) did reach the finals once, and I did lose in the finals of a doubles tourney on a military base in '92, and I did win a singles tournament back in '94 or '95 so I can say that at least. Mainly though, it was fun. (I was also a racquetball player then...truly my best sport [skill-wise anyway] but that's another story). If I had to compare myself, I was most similar to Michael Chang (speed) and Brad Gilbert (head games/strategy and stubbornness). Though I wished I played like Courier.

 

These days I probably only play twice a year. My speed is nowhere near it was in my early 20s, my first serve is unreliable (used to be a weapon), and my backhand is about as reliable as betting on Milos Raonic to win the French Open. Oh, and my endurance (though not bad for a 44 year old) isn't that of my 22 year old self. Basically, I'm a shell of my former tennis self...but it's still a lot of fun to play. And on a good day I can still thump the forehand like Thor wielding his hammer. The main problem is that I only know one person that plays and finding an open court in Japan isn't always easy...not to mention finding a workable schedule to meet up with my local tennis buddy.

 

So that's my tennis life and I'm sticking to it. :blaze:

 

Signed,

 

Ivan Lendl

 

 

P.S. I hope I wasn't too negative or toxic. :P

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Meanwhile, Zverev (a safer bet to be "the future of tennis") has taken out Shapalov in straight sets in the semis.

 

If I had to bet on anyone to be given that "future of tennis" title it'd be Thiem or Zverev.

 

And there it is: Zverev gets his second Masters title of the year with a 6-3, 6-4 win over Federer!

His first Masters title was in Rome over Djokovic (6-4, 6-3) last May.

Besides The Big Four and Tsonga, I'm not sure there are any current ATP players who've won two Masters titles.

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