Coach guiding young talent

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This article was published 10/07/2019 (2477 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Tennis Canada coach Martin Laurendeau is trying to help groom the next Denis Shapovalov, and he’s likely the right man for the job.

After all, he was Shapovalov’s coach when the young phenom made a name for himself in the world of professional tennis in 2017.

Two years ago, Shapovalov, who was 18 years old at the time, was supposed to be in Winnipeg for the National Bank Challenger tournament. Unfortunately for local tennis fans, he had to withdraw three days before the event started because of an injury. One month later, Shapovalov became a household name. He shocked the world by beating the No. 2-ranked Rafael Nadal in the third round at the Rogers Cup.

“Denis just likes the big stage and to show what he can do on the court, whether he’s playing in a Future, a Challenger or whenever he steps on the court,” said Laurendeau, who’s in town this week coaching the young Canadian players at the National Bank Challenger at the Winnipeg Lawn Tennis Club.

“So, (he) saved some match points in the first round, and then was just happy to get a win, then another win, and another win. It just kind of like went really quick from there. And next thing you know, he’s playing Nadal and (Shapovalov) was just on such a roll. There’s no time, really, to think about the match. He finished late the day before and he got to play every day, so he was in a bubble. And so far, he played the match of his life at the right time and it really took off from there.”

But Laurendeau, the former captain and coach for Canada’s Davis Cup team, had his time with Shapovalov cut short. A herniated disc right before Wimbledon last year left Laurendeau unable to travel with Shapovalov full time, forcing the two to go their separate ways. Laurendeau now primarily coaches Canadian college players between the ages of 18 and 22 who are looking to get some professional experience during the summer.

“I could barely walk or stand,” said Laurendeau, a Montreal native.

“I stayed in England leading up to Wimbledon and through the first round where he won the first round. But it was unbearable pain and I had to get some medical treatment and advice. Maybe I needed surgery, so I flew home. I was out for eight weeks where I was in bed and couldn’t really move. And so, you know, he had to keep going. He found another team, or another coach and he’s been doing that since. We had a good run. We had 18 months together where he went from ranked 250th at 17 years old to 23rd in the world. It was a very productive and a great experience, professionally speaking.”

Shapovalov is now on his second coach since parting ways with Laurendeau, and the 20-year-old is currently ranked 27th in the world. Shapovalov has yet to take that next step in his career, as he’s 15-15 in matches this season and coming off of a disappointing loss to No. 77-ranked Ricardas Berankis of Lithuania in the opening round of Wimbledon last week.

But Laurendeau isn’t pointing the finger at coaching for Shapovalov’s recent struggles.

“He’s done well to stay where he’s at because I think regardless, Year 2 is more demanding on a player. The players know you more, they’ve scouted you more and they know what’s coming,” the 55-year-old coach said.

“The player has a lot of points to defend and has a lot more expectations. That rookie year where there’s nothing to stop you, everything you do, you’re basically climbing. That’s done and over with. It’s always a tough Year 2 for anybody.”

Laurendeau knows what Year 2 feels like as a player. He played professionally from 1986 to 1993. One of the biggest highlights of his playing career was reaching the fourth round of the U.S. Open in 1988. Laurendeau said back in his day, the support from Tennis Canada wasn’t there for players like it is now.

Tennis Canada built a national training centre in Montreal in 2007, which was crucial in the development of players such as Milos Raonic and Eugenie Bouchard when they were juniors. They also now invest some of the proceeds from the Rogers Cup to provincial tennis associations across the country and into high-performance programs. With the recent boom of young talent such as Félix Auger-Aliassime and Bianca Andreescu, clearly Tennis Canada’s plan is working.

“You know, we have a window now as a nation and we need these tournaments like here to provide our players with opportunities to learn and get experience. A few guys here got their first ATP points just like Félix and Denis did a couple years ago when they were playing these tournaments. We need to keep that momentum going as long as we can.”

As for Shapovalov, could we see Laurendeau as his coach again in the future?

“You know, we’ll see. For now, he’s got another team going and we keep busy. There’s always players to coach and people to look after. But yeah, we’ll see what the future holds.”

taylor.allen@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @TaylorAllen31