Tennis players tie up during off season for practice sessions all the time, but Denis Shapovalov was at one point sceptical about sharing the court with Bernard Tomic.
The Canadian shared a hilarious anecdote about his 2019 practice session with Tomic during the latest episode of the “All on the Table” series, recalling how his coach Mikhail Youzhny set up a two-hour practice with the Aussie during the off-season in Gold Coast.
Notably, Tomic was only playing sporadic tennis matches at the time, prompting Shapovalov to question his level. The Canadian recalled his practice partner wanting to pull the plug on the session within 15 minutes of them arriving on the court.
"I was doing a pre-season in Gold Coast, and I was super confident, like I made the Paris finals," Denis Shapovalov said. "So I'm working like so hard. and [Mikhail Youzhny], he's like, hey Bernard Tomic is here, like, maybe we set up a practice?"
"I'm like, is he hitting though, like, how good is it gonna be? You know, he's like, not on the Tour but he says, he's good, he's good, let's do two hours tomorrow," he added. "Like 10, 15 minutes in, [Bernanrd Tomic's] like, 'Hey, can we grab a drink? I'm gassed'."
Shapovalov recalled Tomic wanting to end the session on multiple occasions, telling him that it was his first hit in six months. Eventually, he recalled Youzhny asking for a tiebreaker to end the session.
The Canadian hilariously recalled being "pissed" as Tomic crushed him despite having acknowledged being “gassed”. He recalled being at a solid level but said the Aussie was playing “ridiculous” tennis.
"He's like 'This is my first hit in like six months, or something like that. I can't do much more' and we're like "F*** okay," Denis Shapovalov said. "So usually it's like, hey can you stand in one side and like, move me, and he's like 'It's okay and no problem, like, I can do another 10 minutes" and after like 30 minutes he's like, yeah guys, 'I can't, I can't go anymore'."
"[Mikhail Youzhny's] like, hey, could we just play like a quick tiebreak or 10 points to finish practice and he's like, 'Yeah, sure. Let's do this'," he continued. "Dude, the guy crushes me, like 10-4, hitting insane, I wasn't playing bad but the guy's like passing me, like playing ridiculous and I was like low-key pissed."
Denis Shapovalov will look to come back stronger for the 2025 season
Coming back from an injury lay-off, Denis Shapovalov had an underwhelming season in 2024 but he did capture a second career ATP title. The Canadian was victorious on the claycourts of Belgrade, beating Hamad Medjedovic in the summit clash.
The run, which came earlier this month, has helped Shapovalov improve his world ranking to No. 56, but he is still far off from his career-best of No. 10.
The Canadian, who last represented Canada at the Davis Cup Finals in Malaga, will now shift focus to the off-season and prepare well for a return Down Under at the start of the 2025 season.