Denis Shapovalov Claims ATP Dallas Title, Defeating Third Top-10 Opponent in Casper Ruud

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Posted by NewAdmin on 2025-02-11 08:47:48 |

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Canada’s Denis Shapovalov claimed theDallas Open title on Sunday with a stunning 7-6 (7/5), 6-3 victory overNorway’s fifth-ranked Casper Ruud, securing his third career ATP title.Unseeded Shapovalov became just the fifth player since 2020 to defeat the topthree seeds en route to an ATP title, and only the fourth player since 2009 tobeat three top-10 players on the way to a 250- or 500-level title. Earlier inthe tournament, Shapovalov overcame two American favorites: world number fourTaylor Fritz in the second round and defending champion Tommy Paul, who isranked ninth, in the semi-finals.

This victory marks the biggest titleof Shapovalov's career, surpassing his previous wins in Stockholm (2018) andBelgrade (last November), and comes after a tough recovery from injuries sincemid-2023.

“I’ve been dealing with some toughknee injuries, and it's been a long road back,” Shapovalov explained. “It’sbeen challenging to get titles and regain momentum, but my team and those closeto me have kept lifting me up and guiding me when I was down. Without them,these titles—Belgrade and this one—wouldn’t have been possible.”

Shapovalov will rise 22 spots to 32ndin the ATP rankings next week, up from 127th at this time last year.

The Canadian star fired 12 of his 13aces in the first set and never faced a break point. However, he still faced achallenge to secure the first set, winning a tiebreaker against thesecond-seeded Ruud, who made just eight unforced errors in the set. Ruudfaltered on a cross-court forehand at 5-4 in the tiebreaker, then missed abackhand to give Shapovalov two set points. Ruud saved one with a net cordwinner but ultimately netted a forehand, allowing Shapovalov to take the firstset.

Shapovalov broke Ruud early in thesecond set and had two more break points in the fourth game before Ruud held tonarrow the score to 3-1. Shapovalov responded with a series of drop-shotwinners to extend his lead to 4-1, and then held serve again for a 5-2advantage. He sealed the match after one hour and 40 minutes with a powerfuloverhead smash.

"An incredible effort allweek," Ruud said of Shapovalov. "It’s great to see you playing sowell again. It was a little frustrating today, but really impressiveoverall."

This was Shapovalov’s first win inthree meetings with Ruud, denying the Norwegian a 13th career ATP title. Shapovalov hit 46 winners andcommitted 31 unforced errors, while Ruud managed 23 winners with just 14unforced errors.

Go!