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Can Shapovalov maintain his momentum from Los Cabos?

Well, fortunately for Shapovalov, we have now left the clay and grass season behind us. While he reached the semifinals at Wimbledon way back in 2021 on grass, it seems he has struggled to find results on this surface over the last few years. On paper, his game should be quite well-suited to it, but it seems like he does not have enough time to actually find any form, especially since he kind of switches off for the entire clay season. That's why we need to focus on looking at Shapovalov during the hardcourt season, right? Even though he lost the final to a red-hot Gea in Los Cabos, it was still a really good tournament for him. Denis lacks good results in the Canada Masters (except for a run in 2017), but his draws have been really tough... both in Montreal and Toronto. We know he is the kind of player who can be quite influenced by an atmosphere and crowd, in either direction. That's why I think it's important that he was able to get some confidence from a good run in Los Cabos!

This year, his opening round draw is not as bad! Svajda has had a pretty decent season so far, with some good results in Europe, and we know that he is very good on NA hardcourts! I did find his match against Hewitt and Vukic quite poor in Washington, but I also want to keep in mind that it might have been due to the heat-related things he retired for. Still, I don't think it is an easy opening round for him if he needs to regain some momentum...