Félix Auger-Aliassime moved on to the third round after beating Mikael Ymer of Sweden 6-4, 4-6, 7-6, 6-1. He’ll play Australia’s Nick Kyrgios in the third round.TOBY MELVILLE/Reuters
When Canadian tennis star Denis Shapovalov was growing up, one of his dreams was to face Andy Murray on the centre stage of a major championship.
Shapovalov will get his wish Friday when he comes up against Murray for the first time on Wimbledon’s centre court in what will be one of the biggest tests of the Canadian’s young career.
Shapovalov, 22, has never set foot on the famed centre court. By contrast, the 34-year-old Scot is a two-time Wimbledon champion and former world No. 1 whose remarkable play during this year’s tournament has captivated British tennis fans.
“I think it’s going to be a great moment for me,” Shapovalov said Thursday. “I grew up wanting to play against Andy in the spotlight like this. So it’s definitely a match I’m looking forward to. It’s going to be a lot of fun out there.”
How much fun it will be for him remains to be seen. Even though COVID-19 restrictions mean the crowd will be half the size as usual, Shapovalov can expect a noisy and hostile reception every time he hits the ball on Friday.
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Murray has always had rabid support at Wimbledon but the sentimental attachment has grown stronger this year as he hurls his ageing body and metal hip around the court with trademark gusto. He hadn’t played here since 2017 when his hip injuries first surfaced and his last title came in 2016, when he beat Canada’s Milos Raonic in straight sets.
Shapovalov was winning the boy’s crown that year as a 17-year-old and he recalled watching Murray dominate his compatriot. “Yeah, I remember his win in ’16 for sure,” he said.
Murray has already scored two dramatic victories this week that have brought back memories of past triumphs. On Wednesday he fell behind two sets to one to German qualifier Oscar Otte before rallying to win 6-3, 4-6, 4-6, 6-4, 6-2. Two days earlier he nearly blew a two-set, 5-0 lead to Nikoloz Basilashvili, the 24th seed, but clawed back to win 6-4, 6-3, 5-7, 6-3.
Few pundits predicted Murray would go very far at Wimbledon this year and before the tournament began most of the media’s attention had been focused on Novak Djokovic and other likely winners. Now he’s suddenly been labelled “Marvellous Murray” and he’s managed to divert attention from England’s promising run at the Euro 2020 soccer championship.
The worry for Shapovalov is that during both wins Murray relied on the crowd for badly needed boosts at critical moments. On Wednesday he drew on a pair of screaming fans sitting courtside for inspiration. “You know, I picked a few people in the crowd and was basically, like, staring at them pretty much after every point and trying to just engage with them,” he said after the match. “It’s something I have done a number of times over the years in certain matches.”
Shapovalov, too, was struck by Murray’s comeback performance on Wednesday. “Honestly just as a tennis fan, it was fun to watch,” he said. “It felt like he was the player that he was, you know, couple years back. It was really exciting to see.”
But there is no doubt that Shapovalov presents a much tougher challenge for Murray than his first two opponents.
Despite the hype, Murray is still ranked 118th in the world and he’s had limited playing time this year. Shapovalov, ranked No. 12, is one of the rising stars of tennis and he went into Wimbledon having reached the semi-finals of the Queen’s Cup, a grass-court tune-up event in London. And while Murray has already spent more than seven hours on the court, Shapovalova is well rested having played just one match. He beat Germany’s Philipp Kohlschreiber 6-4, 4-6, 6-3, 5-7, 6-4 in the first round on Tuesday and advanced to the second round Wednesday when his opponent, Spain’s Pablo Andujar, pulled out because of a rib injury.
When asked how he’ll cope with the crowd and Murray’s famed tenacity, Shapovalov seemed largely unperturbed. “I’ve been playing these top guys, you know, a couple times now, so for me it’s not a problem to turn the switch off [the crowd noise] anymore,” he said. Then he smiled and added: “I’m hoping to have a long match and a long battle. I mean, that’s what I love play for. I’m definitely ready.”
Of the Canadians who were in action Thursday, Félix Auger-Aliassime moved on to the third round after beating Mikael Ymer of Sweden 6-4, 4-6, 7-6, 6-1. He’ll play Australia’s Nick Kyrgios in the third round.
In doubles play Leylah Fernandez of Laval, Que., and Anastasia Potapova of Russia lost their first-round match 2-6, 6-3, 8-6 while Gabriela Dabrowski of Ottawa and Caroline Garcia of France were beaten 6-4, 6-2. Sharon Fichman of Toronto and Mexico’s Giuliana Olmos won 6-2, 6-1.