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A year ago, Denis Shapovalov was world no. 127. On Monday, the Canadian will return to the top-40 for the first time since October 2023 following the ATP 500 crown in Dallas! The 25-year-old ousted three top-10 players en route to a career-best title.
Denis had to wait over five years to add the second ATP trophy to his collection. It came in Belgrade in November last year and gave him a boost. Less than three months later, the Canadian is a proud owner of the ATP 500 trophy.
Shapovalov bested Taylor Fritz, Tommy Paul and Casper Ruud en route to the title in Dallas. Denis and Casper played an entertaining final, and the younger player scored a 7-6, 6-3 victory in an hour and 40 minutes.
Shapovalov claimed eight points more than Ruud. The lower-ranked player denied the only break point he offered to his rival and mounted the pressure on the other side. Casper served at 75% but could not takethe advantage of that.
The Norwegian played against five break points and suffered one break in the second set. The opening set saw only one break point. Ruud denied it in the third game with a forehand down the line winner and avoided an early setback.
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Denis fired an ace in the sixth game for a hold at love and held at 30 two games later with another booming serve for 4-4. The Canadian missed a backhand in the 12th game while serving to stay in the set, sending the Norwegian two points from the opener.
However, Shapovalov kept his composure and held with a volley winner for 6-6 and more drama. Denis cracked a backhand down the line winner in the fourth point and forged a 3-1 advantage. He placed a forehand long in the sixth point and brought his rival back to 3-3.
The Norwegian played a wild forehand in the ninth point, falling 5-4 behind. Casper played against two set points at 4-6 and denied the first after a lucky net cord winner. Still, he netted a forehand on the second, allowing Shapovalov to take the opener 7-6 in 56 minutes.
The Canadian attacked on the return in the second game of the second set and converted the second break point with a smash winner. He faced the only break point in the next game and fired a booming forehand winner to deny it and cement the advantage.
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Ruud played another loose service game at 0-3. He missed game points and offered his opponent two break points. A top-10 player denied them and held, remaining within one break deficit. Denis left those chances behind and closed the next game with a drop shot winner.
The Canadian grabbed the seventh game with a powerful serve and served for the trophyat 5-3. Shapovalov landed a smash winner for a match point and seized it with a fine attack and a winner at the net, celebrating his career-best title.
