The thing with Shapovalov is that this is a very different year than last year in terms of expectations. Last year, he could do no wrong. There was no real pressure. Anything he accomplished was a plus. Now, this year, he has to back up what he did accomplish. He has to win some matches in Montreal, for one thing. For me, it would feel like a bit of a disappointment if he didn't finish the year top 40, and top 30 seems achievable. But that's pressure. We'll see how he deals with it.
In terms of his development, he seems to be really working hard on his play at net (good area to focus on) and it's showed. He's coming in a lot now and I suspect if you looked at his success rate last year versus now, it would be a significant uptick. That side of his game is going to be crucial to any success he has, along with being more consistent on his serve. The other thing I think he needs to work on is footwork, he's sometimes a step behind or off-balance when on the defensive, in spite of having pretty decent speed that should get him in position to get balls back in play with some pace. Instead, you see him reaching a lot.
Lots of room to go, but plenty of reason to think he can make it there. Will be fun to see how it goes.
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