At 26, Carreno Busta can be considered a veteran. The world No. 19 gets a lot of balls back and has a game built on controlled aggression. Case in point, Shapovalov hit 54 winners to Carreno Busta’s 25, but piled up 55 unforced errors to the Spaniard’s 29.
The aging of the game has removed some of the pressure on teenagers to crack the elite ranks before their 20th birthday, but there are a few talented youngsters who want it all right now, like Shapovalov.
“We're definitely making an impact,” Shapovalov said about the young stars on tour. “There is a lot of young guys coming up and doing really well. I said it from before: I think in a year or two, the rankings are really going to change. It’s kind of a transition time for the ATP.”
Until now, teenage prodigies were becoming a rare breed. The only true example of recent youthful success has been 20-year-old Alexander Zverev. There are just three teens—Shapovalov, Andrey Rublev and Frances Tiafoe—in the Top 100.
The past month has been, in his own words, life changing for the 18-year-old Shapovalov. He has scored wins over Juan Martin del Potro, Rafael Nadal and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, to name a few.
“The month of August has been absolutely life-changing for me,” Shapovalov said. “But I feel like after the Open, I'm going to have a little bit of time to take it all in, everything that's been happening to me.”
Watching him compete, it’s easy to forget that he’s just 18. With such fast success will come even bigger expectations. Players his age should be debating over which college to go to instead of carrying the hopes of the next generation on their shoulders. Remarkably, he seems very well-prepared for the ups and downs that lie ahead.
"I'm playing unbelievable tennis right now, but it's not going to be like this every week," Shapovalov said. "I have been very lucky. There's going to be a lot of tough weeks ahead, and I'm ready for that, as well."