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SPORTSCENTRE Reporter

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Men's tennis hasn't seen a first-time Grand Slam singles champion crowned since Marin Cilic at the 2014 US Open, which was 22 majors ago. In this strange pandemic-interrupted season, that drought is now guaranteed to end at the US Open. 

Roger Federer is sidelined after undergoing knee surgery. Rafael Nadal stayed in Europe due to COVID concerns. World No. 1 Novak Djokovic was shockingly defaulted from his fourth-round match on Sunday. 

"Definitely not the way we wanted to have a new Grand Slam champion," Canada’s Denis Shapovalov told ESPN's Tom Rinaldi during an on-court interview following Sunday's fourth-round win over David Goffin. "But it's pretty exciting to see so many young guys doing so well ... You know, it's been getting pretty boring with these three guys winning every tournament."

Federer, Nadal and Djokovic have claimed the last 13 majors dating back to the 2016 US Open, when Stan Wawrinka won his third Grand Slam title. Wawrinka, like Nadal, opted to skip the trip to New York this year. 

"I feel like everybody kind of has that belief that now they have a chance to win a slam," Shapovalov said. 

Shapovalov was projected to face Djokovic in the quarter-finals, but instead will take on No. 20 seed Pablo Carreno Busta. Their match is second up in Tuesday's night session at Arthur Ashe Stadium, which starts at 7 p.m. ET with a match between Naomi Osaka and Shelby Rogers. You can watch it on TSN1 and TSN3. 

 

He's not Djokovic, but Carreno Busta has had Shapovalov's number on hard courts, winning all three of their encounters on the surface in straight sets. 

"He's kind of like David," Shapovalov said referencing Goffin, "very solid, very stable from the back. It's going to be a similar matchup for me. I have to play my game but remain as steady as possible."

Goffin, the No. 7 seed, hoped to capitalize on Shapovalov's mistakes, but the 21-year-old stayed patient while continuing to dictate play. Shapovalov held a clear edge in winners (52-37), but only committed two more unforced errors than Goffin (46-44). Shapovalov only dropped his serve once while breaking Goffin five times. 

"I knew that I can't just try to slap my way through the match and be over aggressive because he's just too good for that," Shapovalov said. "He's too steady. Surely he would have waited for the opportunity where I'm missing a couple and taken advantage."

It was Carreno Busta who ended Shapovalov​'s magical run in New York in the fourth round of the 2017 US Open. Back then, Shapovalov was an 18-year-old who had to qualify. Now, he's the No. 12 seed, who has taken a big step in his development this season. 

"Clearly, he's been working tremendously hard on his strength," observed Rob Steckley, who coached Shapovalov from late 2018 to early 2019 helping him crack the top 20 for the first time. "He's worked on his movement, moving through the ball, his net game and obviously that's brought a lot of belief within himself. He's also really crushing his groundstrokes and looks much more solid from outside the lines, so that's something that needed development and his team has done a tremendous job."

Steckley believes the younger guys like Shapovalov are also benefitting from the bubble situation with no fans and the players confined to either the grounds at the USTA National Tennis Center or a hotel. There are fewer potential distractions this year. 

"It can be really draining in the city, so I think that's helped a lot of the 'New Gen' players push through in this event," Steckley said. "Players with a lot of experience know how to navigate through the noise and they're used to saving energy whereas players that aren't really there yet with their experience end up dispensing and losing a lot of energy much faster. So, I think that's why we're seeing a lot of fresh young faces right now with fresher legs." 

Carreno Busta is the oldest player left in the men's draw at 29. He reached the semifinals at the 2017 US Open, which remains his best Grand Slam result. 

Shapovalov started working with a sports psychologist during the season pause and credits that relationship for making him a mentally stronger player. For example, after failing to convert four break points and then dropping the first set to Goffin in a 7-0 tiebreak, Shapovalov didn’t get flustered. 

"It was a tough one for me to lose," he admitted. "I had so many opportunities. He played a tremendous tiebreak. I didn't have any chances there. I was definitely doing the exercises we work on with [the psychologist] to calm down, regroup. Surely enough, it helped me."

Shapovalov also feels at peace off the court. He's in a relationship with Mirjam Bjorklund​, also a professional tennis player, who is with him in New York. 

"I just think as soon as we started dating, it's kind of a reason for someone to want to man up," he said. "I felt like she's definitely inspired me to become a better person, a better tennis player."

In so many ways, Shapovalov seems ready to take the next step. But the draw is still full of more experienced contenders, who have been waiting longer for a breakthrough.

Dominic Thiem, the No. 2 seed, has made three major finals, including at the Australian Open this year. Daniil Medvedev, the No. 3 seed, made the US Open final last year pushing Nadal to five sets. Alexander Zverev, the No. 5 seed, reached the semifinal at the Australian Open this year. 

Zverev will face No. 27 seed Borna Coric in the other quarter-final on Shapovalov's side of the bracket. Coric, like Shapovalov, is playing in his first career major quarter-final. 

So, can Shapovalov really win it all this week? 

"I'd probably favour the experienced guys a little bit in the bigger matches once it gets to the semifinals," said Steckley. "But anything is possible, and Denis is that type of player that can get job the done ... judging by the way he's been playing and moving and looking to attack the ball, nobody wants to play somebody like Denis."​