“Can I flip everyone off?" Denis Shapovalov involves in controversial moment with Nordic Open crowd before cementing semifinal berth

Canada’s Denis Shapovalov was part of a controversial situation during his quarterfinal win at the Nordic Open. The 26-year-old defeated home crowd favourite Elias Ymer in the last eight of the ongoing competition in straight sets with a score of 6-4, 6-7, 6-1.

During the second match, there was an intense situation in which the home crowd tried to get under Shapovalov's skin, and he, because of his girlfriend and now wife Mirjam Björklund, who is also a Swede, could understand the crowd's language.

At that very moment, Shapovalov was warned by the chair umpire not to get too involved in heated arguments with the fans. That did not go down well with the Tel Aviv-Yafo-born player, who went all the way up to the chair umpire and was heard saying: “He's flipping me off. He's flipping me off. Can I flip everyone off? So then, why is he allowed?”

That incident, however, did not affect Shapovalov, who came out on top in a contest that lasted just over 2 hours and 30 minutes. Shapovalov produced five aces in the match, three more than his opponent. He registered 24 winners, nine more than Ymer. Shapovalov won 107 points in total, 16 more than his opponent.

It will be Shapovalov’s fourth semifinal in the singles competitions in 2025. In the previous three, he managed to win two and suffered a defeat on one occasion. Both times when Shapovalov won the semifinal, he then went on to lift the title as well.

The first of those incidents came way back in February, when Shapovalov defeated America’s Tommy Paul in the semifinal of the Dallas Open in straight sets with a score of 7-5, 6-3. He went on to win the competition after beating Norway’s Casper Ruud in the final in straight sets with a score of 7-6, 6-3.

The second incident in July in Los Cabos, Mexico, where Shapovalov defeated Australia’s Adam Whalton in the semifinal of the Mifel Tennis Open in straight sets with a score of 6-2, 6-2. He then went on to win the competition after beating Aleksandar Kovacevic in the final in straight sets with a score of 6-4, 6-2.

Shapovalov’s only defeat in the semifinal of a singles competition in 2025 came at the Abierto Mexicano Telcel in Acapulco, Mexico, in February, where he lost to Spain’s Alejandro Davidovich Fokina in straight sets with a score of 7-6, 7-6. Shapovalov’s next opponent in the semifinal of the competition is Norway’s Ruud.

The 26-year-old cemented his spot in the last four of the competition after beating America’s Sebastian Korda with a score of 6-7, 6-4, 6-4. That match also lasted exactly 2.5 hours. During the match, Ruud had 29 winners to his name, which was 18 more than what Korda managed to produce on the day. Ruud was far more disciplined, making just 9 unforced errors, 12 fewer than Korda.

It will be Ruud’s fourth semifinal appearance this year for Ruud as well. In the previous three, he managed to win twice and suffered one defeat. That defeat recently came in the semifinal of the Japan Open to world number one Spain’s Carlos Alcaraz with a score of 3-6, 6-3, 6-4. Other than that, Ruud won the semifinal of the Dallas Open, where he defeated Spain’s Jaume Munar with a score of 6-2, 2-6, 7-6.

Ruud also defeated Francisco Cerundolo of Argentina in the last-four clash of the Madrid Open in straight sets with a score of 6-4, 7-5. This will be the fourth time that Shapovalov and Ruud will face off in professional tennis. In the previous three editions, Rudd had a slight advantage as he won two and suffered one defeat. However, Shapovalov will feel better that he won the only fixture between the two players on a hard court, whereas Ruud’s two wins both came while playing on clay courts.