It’s notĀ thatĀ hard of a name to master, is it?
Apparently it is in Australia, where a public address announcer completely butchered Denis Shapovalov’s last name when introducing the Canadian at the Brisbane International tennis tournament.
How many extra syllables did he add?
Denis Shapfkdkjdlovlov
(TennisTV š„) pic.twitter.com/PvXPor8NYc
ā Sarah Claire (@BerdVolleys) January 2, 2018
Shapovalov, who is used to people messing up his last name, had a sense of humour about it:
Close enough https://t.co/oODgs2GNvN
— Denis Shapovalov (@denis_shapo) January 2, 2018
After a breakout performance in 2017, it would be advisable to learn the name Shapovalov.
You know who has mastered it? This three-year-old:
It's really not that hard to pronounce you guys (cc:@denis_shapo) pic.twitter.com/r63BIsi45L
— Reem Abulleil (@ReemAbulleil) January 2, 2018
Shapovalov certainly made a name for himself last year, being named 2017 Canadian Press Male Athlete of the Year last week.
The 18-year-old was the upset king in Montreal last summer, defeating Rafael Nadal en route to a semi-finals appearance at the Rogers Cup. He followed that up by making the Round of 16 as a qualifier at the US Open, which included a win over Jo-Wilfried Tsonga.
His world ranking shot up because of it, as the Canadian enters the 2018 season ranked 51st. He’s scheduled to make his first-ever men’s singles appearance at the Australian Open later this month.