Denis Shapovalov has won the biggest title of his career at the Dallas Open after beating Casper Ruud in the final.
Shapovalov had been backed for big things from a young age, but has struggled for form and fitness since his breakout as a teenager.
However, there has been somewhat of a resurgent in recent months, with Shapovalov winning a title in Belgrade last year before his first ATP 500 win at the recently upgraded Dallas Open.
Despite containing 13 home players in the main draw, there were no American’s in the Dallas final that instead contained a Canadian and a Norwegian.
Nick Kyrgios reacts to Denis Shapovalov’s Dallas Open achievement
Two of those aforementioned American players were beaten by Shapovalov, who knocked out both Taylor Fritz and defending champion Tommy Paul.
Fritz and Paul were two of three top 10 ranked players that Shapovalov beat en route to the Dallas title, with his final opponent Ruud the other.
Shapovalov was also able to dispatch sixth seed Tomas Machac, with his only victory not against a seeded player coming in the first round against Miomir Kecmanovic.
| Stage of tournament | Opponent | Opponents ranking | Result |
| First Round | Miomir Kecmanovic | 55 | Shapovalov won, 6-3 6(5)-7 6-3 |
| Second Round | Taylor Fritz | 4 | Shapovalov won, 2-6 6-3 7-6(2) |
| Quarter-final | Tomas Machac | 25 | Shapovalov won, 7-6(5) 6-0 |
| Semi-final | Tommy Paul | 9 | Shapovalov won, 7-5 6-3 |
| Final | Casper Ruud | 5 | Shapovalov won, 7-6(5) 6-3 |
As a result of beating three top 10 players, Shapovalov has become the first player to beat three players of this calibre at an ATP 500 level event since Nick Kyrgios in 2019.
At the Mexican Open in Acapulco that year, Kyrgios was able to beat Rafael Nadal, John Isner and Alexander Zverev to win the title.
Kyrgios, who is set to play in Mexico again soon, has reacted to his achievement being matched and praised Shapovalov for his victory.
“Well done bro! DOPE STAT,” Kyrgios said on X (formerly known as Twitter).
Denis Shapovalov makes big move up the ATP rankings
Shapovalov is a former Wimbledon finalist, having achieved his best Grand Slam result to date in 2021, and has a career-high ranking of world number 10.
The 25-year-old headed into the Dallas Open as the world number 54, but following his biggest title win has been able to climb 22 places upto world number 32.
This is Shapovalov’s best ranking since September 2023, and more importantly would put him in a position to be seeded at a Grand Slam tournament again.
Coincidentally, Shapovalov’s next tournament will be at the same event that was previously won by Kyrgios in Acapulco, as he looks to continue his good form.
The Mexican Open begins on Monday February 24, with the aforementioned Zverev, Fritz and Paul as the top seeds.
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