Photo: Jared Wickerham/Dallas Open
The Canadian claimed victories over three top 10 players en route to Texas title
Canada’s Denis Shapovalov claimed his third ATP title, and the biggest of his career to date, with a 7-6(5), 6-3 win over World No. 5 Casper Ruud of Norway in the final of the 500-level Dallas Open on Sunday.
Adding to his victories at the ATP 250 events in Stockholm (2019) and Belgrade (2024), the 25-year-old’s triumph in Texas was the first of his career over Ruud having lost their previous two meetings, both on clay, in Geneva (2021) and Rome (2022).
Appearing in his eighth ATP Tour final, Shapovalov’s run included wins over two other top 10 opponents, the United States’ Taylor Fritz (No. 4) and Tommy Paul (No. 9) in the second round and semi-finals respectively. By beating Ruud, the Canadian became the first player on tour to overcome three top 10 players at the same tournament this year.
In Sunday’s championship match, Shapovalov took the first set to his opponent, leaning on his serve to hit 12 aces to the Norwegian’s two. Eventually, it went to a tiebreak, which the Canadian held his nerve to win 7-5. In the second, he continued on the front foot, and broke Ruud on his first service game to edge in front. It was a lead Shapovalov did not relinquish as he saw out the set 6-3.
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“There’s a lot to be happy about, of course it’s the biggest title of my career,” said Shapovalov in his post-match, on-court interview. “I had a good chance against [Daniil] Medvedev a couple of years ago, but he played a terrific match after losing the first. So, I’m really happy to stay strong this time and get the win.”
“Congratulations to Denis on his third-career ATP title and his first ATP 500”, said Guillaume Marx, Vice President of High Performance at Tennis Canada. “He has played magnificent tennis this week with impressive wins against three top 10 opponents, including the USA’s No. 1 and No. 2 players. Today’s victory over Casper Ruud was the crowning moment and shows that he is definitely back to his highest level after his comeback from injury just a year ago.”
Shapovalov’s victory will secure his return to the world’s top 50 for the first time since October 2023 when the rankings are updated on Monday, with him expected to climb to No. 32.
