Roger Federer has always spent time talking to me, says Shapovalov
Denis Shapovalov is ready to make his second appearance ever in the Laver Cup in Geneva in September. The Canadian player will be in the Team World and he is set to face Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Dominic Thiem, Alexander Zverev and Fabio Fognini who compete for Team Europe. Shapovalov recalled how it felt like to play the Laver Cup for the first time in 2017 Prague: “Getting to know these guys, and obviously Roger in particular, it’s pretty crazy for me. They’re not just unbelievable tennis players. They’re really nice people, too. Roger’s always given me time. He’s always stopped and said hello, spent time talking to me. For a guy like him maybe it’s nothing but for a player like me it’s huge.”
Shapovalov opened up on his admiration for Federer: “I’ve always tried to model my game on Roger’s, trying to be aggressive, trying to be coming in, playing quick, and I’ve always tried to copy Rafa with my fighting spirit. I’ve definitely tried to learn a lot from them and I keep trying to learn a lot from them. On the clay courts I was watching a lot of videos of Rafa, trying to see what he does as a leftie to hurt players. And on the grass I’ve been trying to watch a little bit of Rog, how he plays and why he’s so comfortable and so good on the surface.”
from Tennis World USA https://ift.tt/32AEKGN
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