Rogers Cup 2018: Shapovalov vows to 'be stronger next year' after third-round defeat to Haase

Rudi Schuller

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Rogers Cup 2018: Shapovalov vows to 'be stronger next year' after third-round defeat to Haase image

TORONTO — It wasn't meant to be for Denis Shapovalov.

The 19-year-old's return to Toronto was derailed on Thursday after the Canadian lost in straight sets to Robin Haase in the third round of the Rogers Cup. Shapovalov had played some impressive tennis to get to Thursday's contest, harkening back to a year ago when the teenager burst onto the scene with an unexpected run to the semifinals of the same tournament.

Everything seemed to be lining up for Shapovalov to make a another foray into the deep stages of the competition, this time in his hometown, but an error-filled evening coupled with some smart play by Haase led to an earlier-than-expected exit for the teenager.

"Robin did a good job today of really playing with my game, and he played me really smart today," Shapovalov told reporters after the match. "Unfortunately I had a bit of an off day and those things happen."

Shapovalov's visible frustration throughout the match had completely faded by the time he met with reporters, and the popular teen was already looking at the whole experience in Toronto as a positive. The youngster defeated 46th-ranked Jeremy Chardy and World No. 14 Fabio Fognini before falling to Haase, and he felt that his homecoming coincided with the return of the strong points of his game.

"It's been a really good week," Shapovalov said. "I'm really happy with the way it turned out. I really feel like I've found my game from, you know, from a couple months ago. And I'm playing really well, you know, obviously except for today."

With the US Open on the horizon, Shapovalov will be looking to retain some of the positive elements he took from the Rogers Cup. But even with a major tournament looming, Shapovalov said he's already looking forward to returning to Canada to play in front of the supportive crowds that helped him "keep fighting" in the losing effort against Haase.

"I'm sorry I kind of disappointed them today with a little bit of -- you know, not poor play, but I wasn't able to perform my best," he said. "But I'll be stronger next year and, you know, I'm really excited to be back in Montreal next year and be back here [in Toronto] in two years."

Until his return to home soil, Shapovalov will attempt to continue the meteoric rise that saw him jump from 143rd in the world rankings from this time last year to his current position at No. 26. Part of that process is taking the positive from disappointment, which is exactly what he plans to do after Thursday's loss. 

"It's one bad day. And it's a sport, so things like this happen all the time," Shapovalov said. "I've just got to learn from it and keep moving forward."

Rudi Schuller