Denis Shapovalov is still a young gun in the world of professional tennis. Despite his age, however, the 17-year-old Canadian has already added a few belt notches in his early career, including an impressive championship title at last year's Wimbeldon Boys' tournament. While just a teenager, his success on the court has a lot of fans buzzing about his raw potential - yet another amazing product of a Canadian tennis program, which has already produced stars like Genie Bouchard and Milos Raonic.
Last night at the annual Davis Cup, Shapovalov looked to continue his momentum by taking on Kyle Edmund, a representative of Great Britain. The two were locked in a close match and duked it out in the hopes of advancing to the next round. Playing in front of a packed house in Ottawa, the pace of the game was quick and entertaining, and it looked as though fans were in for a real treat.
As the game progressed, Shapovalov began to wear down. Tied 1-1 in the third set, his final serve was expertly broken by his opponent Edmund, who calmly gained the upper hand in one fell swoop. The Canadian star was visibly frustrated and decided to take out his bottled up anger on a tennis ball, which he pulled out of his own pocket. What happened next, ended up costing Shapovalov the entire game.
It's fair to say that the unfortunate strike was an accident, but for the French umpire on the receiving end of the hit, it was completely unacceptable. Shapovalov was promptly disqualified and left to face an eager drove of reporters who questioned his outburst. The teenager was quick to apologize, adding that it was indeed a stupid reaction. In an official statement sent out via Twitter, Shapovalov reiterated his immediate sentiment, and hopes to move forward from the incident. In the meantime, we suppose it's a good indicator to keep things chill.
