The rumblings started late last year, not long after Denis Shapovalov had upset Juan Martin del Potro and Rafael Nadal en route to the Coupe Rogers semi-finals and then reached the fourth round at the US Open. Could Shapovalov back up his breakout season in 2018, or would the 19-year-old suffer the dreaded second-year slump, as players and coaches break down his game with more film and more matches available to study?

The answer, resoundingly, has been the former. Shapovalov has not only repeated his breakout 2017; he’s improved upon it. By this time last year, the #NextGenATP Canadian was No. 51 in the ATP Rankings. But this year, Shapovalov is eyeing a Top 30 year-end finish as the regular ATP World Tour season heads into its final week.

The teenager is No. 29 in the ATP Rankings and a strong contender to again earn the ATP Star of Tomorrow presented by Emirates for the second consecutive year. The honour will go to the youngest player inside the Top 100 of the ATP Rankings on 5 November. Shapovalov received the award – and the Most Improved Player honour – during the 2017 Nitto ATP Finals in London.

The Past 10 ATP Star of Tomorrow Presented By Emirates Recipients

“This is incredible – first of all to be here and to win these awards,” Shapovalov said during the ceremony. “I definitely want to win an ATP World Tour title next year and finish in the Top 25, if everything goes well.”

The forthcoming Shapovalov is still searching for his first ATP World Tour title. He reached the semi-finals at the Delray Beach Open (l. to Tiafoe) and the Mutua Madrid Open (l. to A. Zverev), becoming the youngest semi-finalist in the history of the ATP World Tour Masters 1000 tournament, and at the Rakuten Japan Open Tennis Championships 2018 (l. to Medvedev). Shapovalov also made the quarter-finals at the Nature Valley International in Eastbourne (l. to M. Zverev) and at the St. Petersburg Open (l. to Klizan).

But, with a strong finish to 2018, the Canadian will check off his goal of ending the year inside the Top 25.

Read More: Nadal: Zverev, Shapovalov Are The Vanguard

“I think so far my season has been better than I expected. I’ve been playing unbelievably well throughout the season. I’ve really improved on clay courts. To be honest, my main goal this season was to improve my game… I feel like I’ve improved so much in my game, mentally,” Shapovalov said. “I just feel like I belong out there this year. I’m able to compete with anyone out there.”

Shapovalov has bulked up since last year, and he continues to benefit from a unique relationship with his mother, Tessa Shapovalova, who, along with Martin Laurendeau, coaches the teenager.

“She knows my game better than anybody, better than even I do. So that’s what I feel like makes her such a great coach and makes her work well with me,” Shapovalov said. “She does a really good job of being my mom off court and giving me my space and, you know, loving me. While on the court she’s tough and she keeps me disciplined and she’s my coach. She’s not my mom on court. And I feel like we’ve really found that balance together.”

Shapovalov is currently in third place in the ATP Race To Milan and recently secured his place at the Next Gen ATP Finals, to be held 6-10 November. The Canadian fell one match short of reaching the semi-finals during last year’s inaugural edition.

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“It’s a nice tournament to play at the end of the year… It was a lot of fun,” Shapovalov said. “Hopefully… I can do well in the next couple tournaments. Even if not, my main goal, as I’m 19, is to keep improving. Even if the results don’t come now, I’m trying to improve my game for years to come.”

Nobody on the ATP World Tour wants to lose the first set. But there’s a lesson in the numbers — whatever you do, don’t fall behind Novak Djokovic.

A slow start has proven especially harmful against Djokovic, as no player has been more dominant with a one-set lead than the Serbian. According to the FedEx ATP Performance Zone, Djokovic holds a 724-31 record after winning the opener, a win-rate of 95.9 per cent. Only 14 players in history have won at least 90 per cent of their matches after winning the first set.

That could be something to keep an eye on this week at the Rolex Paris Masters, where the 72-time tour-level champion Djokovic continues his pursuit to regain the No. 1 ATP Ranking. And the recent Cincinnati, US Open and Shanghai champion is in excellent form, arriving in Paris having won the past 24 matches in which he has won the first set.

Top 5 Players In History After Winning The First Set

In fact, the four-time Paris titlist has won the first set in 25 of his 35 clashes at the ATP World Tour Masters 1000 event. And of those 25 matches, he has triumphed 24 times. It doesn’t hurt that Djokovic arrives in France on an 18-match winning streak overall, either.

What’s perhaps most impressive is that, excluding wins over two qualifiers ranked outside of the Top 90, Djokovic owns a 22-1 record at the final Masters 1000 tournament of the year against opponents with an average ATP Ranking of No. 17. But that’s not all — Djokovic has always dominated with the lead against the best players in the sport.

Explore The FedEx ATP Performance Zone

The 31-year-old has won 89.8 per cent of his matches against Top 10 opponents after taking the opening set. That means that Djokovic’s win-rate in such a situation against the Top 10 is better than that of all but 15 players in history against the field.

Only one player has done better against the elite group, and that’s World No. 1 Rafael Nadal. The Spaniard has won 90.0 per cent (135-15) of his matches against the Top 10, and he is directly behind Djokovic in matches won after claiming the first set against the field. Nadal has captured 808 of 852, or 94.8 per cent.

Rounding out the Top 5 in the category are Bjorn Borg (94.1%, 563-35), Andy Murray (93.5%, 557-39) and Roger Federer (93.3%, 1,047-75). Of the Top 10 players in matches won after triumphing in the first set, only one — Juan Martin del Potro — has not reached No. 1 in the ATP Rankings. 

The ‘Big Four’ Against Top 10 Opponents After Winning The First Set

Djokovic has been doing that well this year, clinching 40 of the 42 matches in which he has come out on top in the opener. And he’ll try to continue getting ahead in Paris, where he seeks a record-tying 33rd Masters 1000 title.

Did You Know?
Djokovic can return to the top spot in the ATP Rankings by triumphing in Paris, regardless of Nadal’s result at the indoor hard-court event.

Novak Djokovic confirmed on Sunday what many tennis observers have been thinking the past few months: The Serbian is at his best level.

Djokovic, speaking ahead of the Rolex Paris Masters, said when he reunited with coach Marian Vajda and fitness coach Gebhard Gritsch in April, the group planned to have the Serbian back at peak level by the US Open. But in August, Djokovic had already returned to his best. He beat Roger Federer in the Cincinnati final to become the first player to win the Career Golden Masters.

Watch: Djokovic Stands Alone With Cincy Title

This week, at the season’s final ATP World Tour Masters 1000 tournament, Djokovic’s season could truly reach the top. Whoever advances further between No. 2 Djokovic and No. 1 Rafael Nadal will be No. 1 in the ATP Rankings on 5 November. If Djokovic and Nadal lose in the same round, the Spaniard will remain World No. 1.

Djokovic could also tie Nadal’s all-time Masters 1000 title record in France. Nadal has 33 Masters 1000 titles to Djokovic’s 32.

“We are very, very pleased with what was achieved in the last four, five months,” said Djokovic, who has won 18 consecutive matches, including his title run earlier this month at the Rolex Shanghai Masters. “With Rafa’s injury and him not playing China and so forth, it put me in a position to be very close to him in the [ATP Rankings] and to fight for a year-end No. 1. I’m aware of it, and I’m going to give my very best to try to achieve it.”

Watch: Djokovic Discusses Going For No. 1 In ATP Rankings

Nadal is the top seed in Paris and is playing for the first time since 7 September, when he retired from his US Open semi-final against Juan Martin del Potro because of tendonitis in his right knee. Djokovic went on to beat Del Potro in the final for his 14^th Grand Slam and second of the season (Wimbledon).

“In both the US Open and Shanghai, I’ve played as good as ever. So I really enjoy tennis at the moment and enjoy competing, because obviously when you’re winning that many matches you have a lot of confidence. When you have a lot of confidence, you approach the practice sessions and the tournaments and the matches in a just completely different way,” Djokovic said.

“As I said, it was quite opposite extremes in terms of how I felt and how I played five months ago and today. So I do think that I’m playing at my best at the moment and, I always feel like I can improve, but I feel like this is a very high level.”

The Serbian has won the Rolex Paris Masters four times, including back-to-back-to-back titles from 2013-2015 (also 2009). But Djokovic hasn’t won the title since 2015, as Brit Andy Murray and American Jack Sock won the 2016 and 2017 editions, respectively.

“I do have high expectations for myself anywhere I go,” Djokovic said. “So we put a lot of hours on the practice court and it paid off.”

Winning never gets old, not even for Roger Federer. The Swiss 37-year-old was ecstatic on Sunday when he triumphed at the Swiss Indoors Basel for the ninth time, lifting his 99th tour-level trophy. The victory ties a personal record for most titles won at a single event, having also come out victorious in Halle nine times.

“First and foremost for me it’s about winning here. I don’t care about anything else right now,” Federer said. “This win here in Basel means the world to me. It makes me so happy to win in front of my home crowd and make them happy in a way. It was a fantastic week.”

What perhaps makes it most satisfying is that the Swiss did not arrive in his best form, nor did he sprint on a hurdle-less track in Basel. Federer had lost in the fourth round of the US Open and the semi-finals of the Rolex Shanghai Masters. The top seed then fell down an early break in three of his final four matches in Basel.

But Federer, like he’s done so many times in his career, found a way to win. He now owns 71 match victories at his home tournament, and yet another trophy.

“It’s not always been easy the past few weeks. I’ve played well, but at times also I didn’t play as well, so it’s nice to come back to winning ways. Now we’ll see what happens next,” Federer said. “But obviously getting 99 is a huge, huge number for me. Getting nine here in Basel is crazy. I can’t believe it. It’s a major week for me in terms of all the records, so it’s great.

“Since many years, I don’t know if every title I win might be my last. I don’t know. I’m not saying I’m celebrating like it is my last, maybe I should… Here it’s always emotional, seeing the faces of the ball kids. Seeing myself in their shoes is very touching for me. Getting the standing ovations from the fans touches me a lot as well.”

It certainly helps that this event is where many of Federer’s dreams were born. As a youngster, Federer spent two years as a ball boy in Basel. He remembers the 1994 tournament, won by South African Wayne Ferreira. Every year, the champions gives the ball kids medals. On Sunday, Federer did just that. Twenty four years ago, he was one of those children, just happy to be standing next to one of the best players in the world.

“Walking out for a Basel final was always my dream, or just playing on the centre court was a thrill 21 years ago for the qualies,” Federer said. “So when you sit there and the trophy ceremony is starting and the ball kids walk out, I remember being in their shoes and [it being] me walking out.”

As far as his tennis goes, Federer was surprisingly broken 13 times this week. But he broke his opponents 21 times, winning 35.6 per cent of his return games, which is better than his 23.1 per cent average for the year entering the tournament, according to Infosys ATP Scores & Stats. That improvement might bode well as he gains momentum ahead of the Nitto ATP Finals, to take place at The O2 in London from 11-18 November.

“Maybe I had to win it through good returning, through fighting and all that stuff, so maybe differently than some of my past tournament victories,” Federer said. “But winning is fun, winning gives you confidence and that’s what I’ll need if I want to do well in London and beat the best over there, so I hope that this confidence I gained from here is going to help me there.”

In reflecting on his victory this week, Federer admitted to being nervous at his home tournament. Not only is it his home, but virtually everyone in attendance is there to watch him, hoping he will pull through.

“Of course I have pressure, of course I have nerves, but I try to block it aside and just enjoy it for what it is and moreso think what a privilege it is to be in this position,” said Federer, who celebreated aftwerwards with about 50 family members and friends. “I’ll drive home and sleep in my own bed. It’s going to be great.”

Former World No. 1 Andre Agassi will help coach Grigor Dimitrov at this week’s Rolex Paris Masters. Agassi flew out early Saturday afternoon and joined Dimitrov on Sunday at the season’s final ATP World Tour Masters 1000 event.

Backhand chats with @AndreAgassi and @GrigorDimitrov #RolexParisMasters pic.twitter.com/GxBOkI4V8q

— ROLEX PARIS MASTERS (@RolexPMasters) October 28, 2018

This is at least the second time this year the two have worked together. They were seen practising in July at Georgia Tech University in Atlanta.

Spotted around Georgia Tech: Olympic Gold Medalist and Grand Slam Champion @AndreAgassi. ? ? pic.twitter.com/BO7yscaNwa

— Georgia Tech (@GeorgiaTech) July 13, 2018

Dani Vallverdu, Dimitrov’s coach since mid-2016, is also in Paris. Last year, Vallverdu guided Dimitrov to his best season yet. The Bulgarian won his first Masters 1000 event (Cincinnati) and the biggest title of his career at the Nitto ATP Finals in London. Dimitrov finished 2017 at No. 3 in the ATP Rankings.

Taming The Talent: Why Dimitrov, Vallverdu Make A Good Match

But the 27-year-old Dimitrov has struggled to back up his breakthrough season. After four titles last year, Dimitrov has reached only one final this year, losing to Roger Federer in Rotterdam. Dimitrov is in 22^nd place in the ATP Race To London and will not be making a return trip to The O2.

Agassi worked with Novak Djokovic for 11 months, from May 2017 until April 2018, when the two agreed to end their partnership.