Denis Shapovalov

Denis Shapovalov (Russian: Денис Викторович Шаповалов; born April 15, 1999) is a Canadian junior tennis player. He reached a career high ATP singles ranking of No. 778 on February 8, 2016 and a career high ITF junior ranking of No. 25 on January 25, 2016. Shapovalov won the 2015 US Open junior doubles title with compatriot Félix Auger-Aliassime.

Early life

Shapovalov was born in Tel Aviv, Israel to Russian parents Viktor and Tessa Shapovalov. He started to play tennis at the club his mother was coaching at when he was 5 years old and he is still coached by her along with Adriano Fuorivia. His mother Tessa opened up her own tennis club in Vaughan named TessaTennis to help give him a home base to train at and to coach other juniors.

Tennis career

2013–14

In October 2013, Shapovalov won his first junior singles title at the ITF G5 in Burlington. He captured his second singles title in April 2014 at the junior ITF G5 in Burlington. In July 2014, Shapovalov won the singles and doubles titles at the junior ITF G4 in San José.

Australian Open

The Australian Open is a major tennis tournament held annually over the last fortnight of January in Melbourne, Australia. First held in 1905, the tournament is chronologically the first of the four Grand Slam tennis events of the year – the other three being the French Open, Wimbledon and the US Open. It features men's and women's singles; men's, women's and mixed doubles and junior's championships; as well as wheelchair, legends and exhibition events. Prior to 1988 the tournament had been played on grass. Since 1988 two types of hardcourt surfaces have been used at Melbourne Park – green Rebound Ace to 2007 and blue Plexicushion from 2008.

The Australian Open typically has high attendance, second only to the US Open. It was also the first Grand Slam tournament to feature indoor play during wet weather or extreme heat with its three primary courts, the Rod Laver Arena, Hisense Arena and the refurbished Margaret Court Arena equipped with retractable roofs.

History

The Australian Open is managed by Tennis Australia, formerly the Lawn Tennis Association of Australia (LTAA), and was first played at the Warehouseman's Cricket Ground in Melbourne in 1905. This facility is now known as the Albert Reserve Tennis Centre.

Denis

According to Christian tradition, Saint Denis (also called Dionysius, Dennis, or Denys) is a Christian martyr and saint. In the third century, he was Bishop of Paris. He was martyred, with his companions Rusticus and Eleutherius, in connection with the Decian persecution of Christians, shortly after 250 AD. Denis is said to have picked his head up after being decapitated, walked ten kilometres (six miles), while preaching a sermon of repentance the entire way, making him one of many cephalophores in hagiology. He is venerated in the Roman Catholic Church as patron of Paris, France, and as one of the Fourteen Holy Helpers. The medieval and modern French name "Denis" derives from the ancient name Dionysius.

Life

Gregory of Tours states that Denis was bishop of the Parisii and was martyred by being beheaded by a sword. The earliest document giving an account of his life and martyrdom, the "Passio SS. Dionysii Rustici et Eleutherii" dates from c. 600, is mistakenly attributed to the poet Venantius Fortunatus, and is legendary. Nevertheless, it appears from the Passio that Denis was sent from Italy to convert Gaul in the third century, forging a link with the "apostles to the Gauls" reputed to have been sent out with six other missionary bishops under the direction of Pope Fabian. There Denis was appointed first Bishop of Paris. The persecutions under Emperor Decius had all but dissolved the small Christian community at Lutetia. Denis, with his inseparable companions Rusticus and Eleutherius, who were martyred with him, settled on the Île de la Cité in the River Seine. Roman Paris lay on the higher ground of the Left Bank, away from the river.

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (French pronunciation: ​[(d)ʒo wilfʁid t͡sɔŋɡa]; born 17 April 1985) is a French professional tennis player currently ranked World No. 10 as of 19 October 2015. He was born in Le Mans, to a Congolese father, Didier Tsonga, who moved to France in the 1970s to play handball, and a French mother, Évelyne. Tsonga is a member of the Tennis Club de Paris (TCP). His career-high singles ranking is World No. 5, which he achieved in February 2012.

Tsonga rose to fame by virtue of his performance in the 2008 Australian Open when, as an unseeded player, he reached the final, having defeated four seeded players along the way, including a straight-sets win over the World No. 2 Rafael Nadal in the semifinals. Tsonga eventually lost to the World No. 3 Novak Djokovic in the final in four sets, after winning the first set, the only set Djokovic dropped during the tournament.

Tsonga followed this up by winning his first ATP Masters Series championship at the 2008 Paris Masters, thus qualifying for the 2008 Tennis Masters Cup in Shanghai, China. His best performances in a major tournament since 2008 are semifinal appearances in the 2010 Australian Open, the 2013 and 2015 French Opens, and at Wimbledon in 2011 and 2012. He also reached the final of the 2011 ATP World Tour Finals, where he lost to five-time and defending champion Roger Federer. He achieved his second Masters Series win at the 2014 Canadian Open, defeating four top 10 players on the way to victory. In 2015 he reached the final of the Shanghai Rolex Masters but lost in straight sets to world number 1 Novak Djokovic.

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