However, his stay in Canada was short-lived, as Shapovalov lost to Learner Tien<\/a> in his opening match, 6-7, 5-7.<\/p>\n After the match, Shapovalov explained why he struggles in Toronto<\/a>, claiming he doesn\u2019t feel \u2018comfortable\u2019 on the courts.<\/p>\n Since reaching the Canadian Open<\/a> semifinals in 2017, Shapovalov hasn\u2019t been past the third round of his home tournament, something few would\u2019ve believed possible eight years ago.<\/p>\n It was in 2017 that Shapovalov was the talk of the tennis world, as one ATP Tour<\/a> legend claimed watching him was like looking in the mirror.<\/p>\n John McEnroe once said watching Denis Shapovalov was like watching himself in the mirror<\/p>\n Appearing in just his second Grand Slam tournament, Shapovalov advanced through qualifying to make his presence felt at the 2017 US Open<\/a>.<\/p>\n 2017 US Open Q1 \u2013 Denis Shapovalov defeated Denis Kudla2017 US Open Q2 \u2013 Denis Shapovalov defeated Gastao Elias2017 US Open Q3 \u2013 Denis Shapovalov defeated Jan Satral2017 US Open 1R \u2013 Denis Shapovalov defeated Daniil Medvedev2017 US Open 2R \u2013 Denis Shapovalov defeated Jo-Wilfried Tsonga2017 US Open 3R \u2013 Denis Shapovalov defeated Kyle Edmund<\/p>\n Making his way through to the fourth round, Shapovalov caught the eye of tennis legend John McEnroe, who shared his thoughts on the Canadian\u2019s chances at the US Open during an appearance on Eurosport<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t know if he can go all the way, but I think the way things stand down in the lower half, I don\u2019t see any reason why he can\u2019t make a deeper run,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n McEnroe<\/a> then compared Shapovalov to himself, praising the youngster for his \u2018confidence\u2019 and speed.<\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019s playing with a lot of confidence, he\u2019s extremely quick,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u00a0love the guy, he reminds me of someone, someone who used to play this game long ago.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s awesome, he\u2019s learning quick, he believes in himself, it\u2019s amazing to sort of watch yourself in the mirror.<\/p>\n \u201cHe plays the way I\u2019d play if I was 18 now, the game has changed, but in essence he\u2019s doing the same thing.\u201d<\/p>\n Shapovalov couldn\u2019t quite go all the way in New York eight years ago, as his run came to an end in the fourth round, losing out to Spain\u2019s Pablo Carreno Busta in straight sets.<\/p>\n For all the excitement around Shapovalov<\/a> in 2017, it\u2019s probably fair to say he hasn\u2019t quite lived up to that potential since.<\/p>\n![\"Denis](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/GettyImages-2227620595-1-1024x683.jpg\")
Photo by Matthew Stockman\/Getty Images<\/p>\n![\"Denis](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/GettyImages-2226987499-1024x683.jpg\")
Photo by Mathew Tsang\/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images<\/p>\n