Federer, Nadal and Djokovic - Denis Shapovalov draws the best from each
"In terms of playing Roger, yeah, it's a matchup I have been looking forward to, I think, my whole life (smiling). It's going to be a dream come true to play him in such a big event over here, and the stakes are so high, semi-final match of a Masters 1000 against your idol. It's just a dream come true. Yeah, I will try to put on, like, some tennis sunglasses and I don't see him (smiling) so I see blurry or something, or I see someone else on the other side. No, honestly, I'm going to try to go about it the same way. I'm pleased with how the week's gone so far, so I'm just going to go out there, enjoy myself, have a good time on the court and give it my all.
You know, that's all I can ask at this point. Obviously Roger is a strong opponent and it's going to be a tough match. I'm just happy to kind of have the chance to play him here in the semis. Yeah, that's pretty much it. I'm going to go out there, fight for every point, and see what I can do. I have watched a lot of all of them, both Roger, Novak and Rafa. I was always looking at Roger's backhand, the way he hits it. I always tried to kind of copy him. Really just build my game, like, and play like he does. Aggressive, coming in. He was never afraid to go for his shots and close the point at the net. I feel like that, just watching him do that so much kind of built my personality on the court, and I try to do the same.
In terms of Novak, I have been trying to study his game in terms of how he returns, how well he moves on the court. You know, growing up, I was, again, a huge fan of Novak, just because, one, his game is unbelievable, the way he moves, but also, you know, he was always.. I looked up to him because he was always that kind of No. 3 guy after Roger and Rafa. And he really proved himself that he's capable to break through. I really looked up to him. I admire Rafa's fighting spirit. It's really something that I tried to match and make my own. The way he fights for every point, he doesn't give you an inch. When I had the chance to play him the couple times that I did, you feel it on the court.
You know, even when you have 40 love on your serve, you feel like you need to win that point, otherwise it's going back to deuce. He doesn't give you an inch. I try to bring that into my game. And honestly, I feel like those three guys have helped me learn so much in the game. Yeah, it's three great guys to kind of look up to when you're young."
from Tennis World USA https://ift.tt/2I1J1v4
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