Shapovalov on Tipsarevic: "I think our collaboration will bear fruit, we have the same convictions"

Denis Shapovalov has launched his 2025 season. The Canadian, who has been hampered by a virus in recent days and lost his opening match in Hong Kong to Kei Nishikori, won his first match of the year.

At the Adelaide tournament, the 58th player in the world put in a fine performance to beat Zhang Zhizhen (6-3, 6-4) in just over an hour.

In an exclusive interview with the official ATP website, the former Wimbledon semi-finalist talked about the start of his collaboration with his new coach Janko Tipsarevic.

"We both felt that we needed someone. We spent a long time looking for the rare pearl, someone we felt could help me get back to the highest level.

I think it's really important to have someone like Janko, who knows what I've been through and how I feel.

With him, I can really talk about things that others wouldn't be able to understand," says the Canadian.

"I think our collaboration will pay off. You can't teach experience. You absolutely have to have it.

And Janko has had that experience as a player. He's been through a lot. He's had a fine, long career, with many fine matches.

He understands how I feel. Just knowing that my coach knows how I feel at certain times and that he can really help me, gives me confidence.

I was a big fan of his game. I always thought he was a lot of fun to watch.

He showed a lot of resilience and he put a lot of himself into it, so it was interesting to see him play. To be honest, I didn't know much about him.

We started talking at the end of last year. We worked together in Basel, just to try and understand each other.

I'd like to say that we understood each other instantly. We have the same convictions, both on and off the court. It's a good start to our collaboration," he concluded.