Everybody Loves Duncan Chan, who is making a splash in NBO debut

So says his coach at Texas Christian University, David Roditi. 

“He’s so authentic,” Roditi told Tennis Canada. “Very nice, very respectful. We have a little chant, ‘There’s only one Duncan Chan.’ And there really is only one. 

“He’s got a great smile.” 

Fans at the National Bank Open presented by Rogers have seen that smile, especially during changeovers with doubles partner Alexis Galarneau.

The Canadian pair was on Monday’s quarterfinal schedule, trying to beat two Grand Slam winners (in this case, Marcelo Arevalo and Mate Pavic) for the third straight outing.

Chan, who hails from Markham, Ontario, is competing in his first ATP tournament while being a senior at TCU. 

The 21-year-old received a qualifying wildcard in singles, advanced to the main draw, then pushed Thiago Tirante to a third-set tiebreak in the opening round. 

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In doubles, he filled in for Toronto’s Denis Shapovalov after an injury forced him out. 

Chan first got into tennis through his brother, Kendall, who is four years older. 

He remembers watching qualifying at the NBO in Toronto growing up and later practicing at the venue. That’s when his fondness for tennis grew. 

Roditi got a taste of Chan’s love for the sport when Chan first visited TCU. Instead of only doing a tour of the school and the facilities, he actually wanted to play.

“It’s so unusual to have somebody come on a visit and all he wanted to do is just play tennis,” said Roditi. “I think he played for like hours and hours.” 

“We thought, ‘Okay, he definitely loves tennis, there's no doubt about that. So that's kind of like rule No. 1. If you want to be part of our program, you got to love tennis.”

Chan wasn’t originally hand-picked by TCU, which has had Cameron Norrie and other pros go through its ranks. Assistant coach Devin Bowen was scouting another player while watching US Open junior qualifying and happened to spot Chan. 

Bowen, who had success on the pro tour in doubles like Roditi, noted that Chan was serving and volleying on both the first and second serve. That caught his eye. 

Roditi said Chan’s jumping ability is like a basketball player, no surprise to anyone who has seen him hit overheads at the NBO. 

Trying to improve his baseline game over the years means that the evolution of his style hasn’t gone down the usual path. 

“Once I got to college, I was able to focus on the regular shots, like forehand and backhand, and then add them to my repertoire with my net game,” said Chan, who liked watching Roger Federer. “So, I kind of did tennis backwards, because in today's age, everyone starts with the forehand and the backhand, but later in their career, they're trying to transition forward. 

“Luckily it’s paying off.” 

From being in the lower rungs of the TCU team at first, he rose to No. 5 in the college rankings last year. He is not only an All-American but an academic All-American. 

With his overall progression and making a splash at the NBO, how does Chan, who is majoring in Economics at TCU, see his future and a possible pro career? 

“I have some obvious weaknesses that I need to address, but I think throughout this last year, it's been more and more plausible that I can actually make it instead of just, ‘I want to become pro, get some points on the tour.’ Maybe actually cracking the Top 100 is something that might be in my future,” he said.

“When I first got to college, getting one point was a big milestone for me, if I ever got one. So that's where I'm kind of at right now.”

Photo: Mathieu Bélanger/Tennis Canada