Shapo Takes Time Out From Tennis Match To Consider The Fine Coffee Of Milan

Denis Shapovalov is in the middle of a tense five-set match against Andrey Rublev at the NextGen tournament in Milan. This tournament is testing out an unusual format of four-game sets, with no ad-scoring, no lets, and automatic line-calling, among other changes, but one big one is televised coaching sessions. (Mid-match coaching is currently forbidden on the ATP tour, but they’re trying it out at this exhibition event.)

Most of these bits are stilted and forced, perhaps because it’s a bit awkward to talk nuts and bolts on camera, and also perhaps because the athletes and coaches are pushed to speak English for the sake of viewers worldwide—and English isn’t the preferred language of many of these players. However, this coaching session was insightful and informative.