I really didn't expect that the first stop of the season, the ATP Masters, one of the "Sunshine Doubles" in North America, the Indian Wells Masters, was blowing in a cold wind and freezing cold. As many as four of the top eight seeds with a first-round bye were eliminated in the first match of the second round: No. 1 seed, German Chariot Zverev, No. 4 seed, Norwegian Light Ruud, No. 6 seed, Serbian king Djokovic, No. 7 seed, Russian golden monkey Rublev.

Thankfully, two-time defending champion and Spanish all-rounder Alcaraz was solid and did not disappoint, beating Aris in two sets to reach the third round and meet Canadian nerve knife Shapovalov.

Speaking of Shapovalov, who was born in April 1999, it is really hard to put into words. Wanting to win the 2016 Wimbledon junior title, Shapovalov was in high spirits. In 2017, he turned to professional tennis, Shapovalov shined in the Rogers Cup Masters in Canada that year, with a world ranking of 143, successively defeated Argentina's pineapple del Potro, Spain's god of war Nadal, French bald star Annarino and others, and reached the semifinals in one fell swoop, becoming the youngest semi-finalist since the birth of the Masters in 1990. At the U.S. Open in the same year, Shapovalov successfully broke through from the qualifying round, and won three consecutive matches in the main draw, reaching the round of 16 of a Grand Slam for the first time in his career.

In the 2018 season, Shapovalov reached the semifinals of the Madrid Masters, reaching the semifinals of the Masters for the second year in a row. In 2019, Shapovalov went one step further, not only winning his first career title at ATP 250 Stockholm, but also reaching the final of the Paris Masters and helping Canada to finish runners-up in the Davis Cup team tournament at the end of the year.

For this rising tennis star, the three giants all spoke highly of it and had high hopes. Swiss star Federer said: "Shapovalov, who has a left-handed SLR, serves very well, has a lot of variation in his shots, and is also very threatening. Spanish god of war Rafael Nadal said: "He's done well in every way, it's really special. What he needs now is time, tempering and improving. Serbian star Novak Djokovic said: "He has a well-rounded style of play, he has a good serve, he has a good backhand, he moves very well and he hits the ball with confidence in midfield. ”

In the 2020 season, Shapovalov reached the peak of his career. He reached the quarterfinals of the US Open, the semi-finals of the Rome Masters, and broke into the top 10 for the first time in his career on September 21, ending the year at No. 12 in the world rankings. At Wimbledon 2021, Shapovalov reached the semifinals and created the best Grand Slam record of his career. In 2022, Shapovalov and Aliassime, the Canadian twin stars, won two team championship trophies for their country, the ATP Cup at the beginning of the year and the Davis Cup at the end of the year, which is the crowning achievement and great glory of Shapovalov's career.

However, Shapovalov's performance, which is what it was, failed to reach the final of the Grand Slam and only won a 250 tournament, which was so far from what fans expected of him that he earned the nickname "Canadian Nerve Knife". After the 2023 season, Shapovalov, who was already in an up-and-down state, was trapped by injuries again, and his performance deteriorated until he fell out of the top 100 mark in the world rankings. In the 2024 season, Shapovalov won the ATP 250 Belgrade tournament, and the rest of the lackluster has been lost.

However, entering the 2025 season, Shapovalov has finally had a clear upward momentum. At the ATP 500 Dallas station, Shapovalov won the championship in one fell swoop by defeating three top 10 players in the world, American Daddy Fritz, American Private Paul, and Norwegian Light Ruud. It was Shapovalov's third career singles title and the heaviest title, which led to a rise in the world rankings to No. 32. At the ATP 500 Acapulco tournament the following day, Shapovalov continued to win three consecutive matches to reach the semifinals and reach 28th in the world rankings.

Coming to the Indian Wells Masters, Shapovalov met defending champion Alcaraz in the third round, ushering in the second meeting between the two since the third round of the 2022 French Open. How well Shapovalov is recovering from athletic form, Alcaraz is the best litmus test. Alcaraz, who is four years younger than Shapovalov, has long surpassed this senior, and can only be compared to him. But Alcaraz, the world No. 3 and two-time Indian Wells Masters champion, has always had moments of ups and downs in concentration, and he hasn't given Canadian Nerve Knife Shapovalov some rare opportunities.

This morning's match proved that Shapovalov is still in the recovery period, and the future of the tour will be a long and difficult road. 2:6, 4:6, Shapovalov lost in two sets, and there was no chance of winning at all. Had it not been for Alcaraz's 5-0 lead in the first set and a forehand backslash in the sixth game of the service game that went out of bounds, Shapovalov would have lost the first set. Although Shapovalov fought hard, broke his opponent's serve to win the set and finally held serve for a game, Alcaraz, who regained his focus and never gave his opponent any more chances, winning the match in two sets.

Canadian nerve knife Shapovalov, if you want to return to the top ten immortal classes in the world, you have a long way to go, and you must work harder!

(Source: Tennis Home Author: Colorful Bean Powder)