Denis Shapovalov is the champion at the Los Cabos Open in Mexico with the Canadian sealing his fourth ATP Tour title and his second of the season on Saturday night defeating the American Aleksandar Kovacevic 6-4, 6-2.
Shapovalov seems to crop up again whenever it seems like he is down and out and he hs done so again here. He had not dropped more than three games in a set en route to winning the title and he dominated the title match here.
Shapovalov won 81% of his first serve points, he saved the one break point he faced and also hit 15 winners to win after just over an hour. He won in 75 minutes on the hard courts of Mexico.
He referenced those struggles after the win saying that the hard work certainly has paid off in this case as he seals yet another title to continue 2025. It also begins the post Wimbledon run-in and for both an important time.
Shapovalov will next return to Canada to play back at home while Kovacevic has the American run-in as he aims to stake his claim among the top American stars.
“It’s amazing," Shapovalov said. “To win three titles in the span of like seven months, it’s incredible. After winning my first title I struggled there for a little while – I had good results but wasn’t able to go through to get another trophy."
“We have been working for quite a few years now and it hasn’t been easy coming back from injury. But all the work we’ve done, it is really paying off," Shapovalov said.
As was discussed by Shapovalov, it did set up a rare feat in said final with the one handed backhand returning in this case. It was a massively rare feat and even more so given that Shapovalov plays with his left hand, while the American plays with his right.
He hilariously quipped that him and Kovacevic have to stick together in what is one of tennis's dying arts especially given Stefanos Tsitsipas' struggles as of late which confound the dying death of single handed backhand.
“I want to congratulate Aleksandar on an amazing week," Shapovalov added. "He beat some great players. Honestly, I didn’t watch the match [vs. Rublev] yesterday, but my coach told me you played insane, so, congrats on an amazing week. I think you are an amazing player. I love your game. Obviously, us one-handed backhand [players], we gotta stick together. Definitely love watching you play."
Shapovalov now shoots up to World No.28 in the live ATP Rankings which will be updated on Monday ahead of a new week which sees the action head to Washington. It has been a long road with Shapovalov forced to end his 2023 season early after Wimbledon with a knee injury.
He fell as low as World No.140 in the ATP Rankings but has managed to work his way back up in the last 10 months and whenever it seems like he is falling, Shapovalov manages to pick himself back up and go again.
It is his third tour-level title on indoor hard courts winning in Stockholm in 2019, Belgrade at the end of 2024 and now adding Los Cabos. He saw off Govind Nanda, Tristan Schoolkate, Adam Walton and Kovacevic en route to the run.
It is also another title after winning Dallas and he has joined five other players to win multiple this year but only Ugo Humbert, Taylor Fritz and Tallon Griekspoor have joined him in winning it without losing a set.
Kovacevic after defeating Andrey Rublev wasn't able to quell the better single handed backhand and lost out but moves up 10 spots to World No.66, a new career high that he will experience on Monday. So overall a good week for both.
Match Statistics Kovacevic vs. Shapovalov
| Kovacevic | VS | Shapovalov |
|---|---|---|
| Service | ||
| 2 | Aces | 6 |
| 2 | Double Faults | 2 |
| 66% (33/50) | 1st Service Percentage | 63% (32/51) |
| 67% (22/33) | 1st Service Points Won | 81% (26/32) |
| 47% (8/17) | 2nd Service Points Won | 63% (12/19) |
| 63% (5/8) | Break Points Saved | 100% (1/1) |
| 67% (6/9) | Service Games | 100% (9/9) |
| Return | ||
| 19% (6/32) | 1st Return Points Won | 33% (11/33) |
| 37% (7/19) | 2nd Return Points Won | 53% (9/17) |
| - | Break Points Saved | - |
| Other | ||
| 1h 15m | Match Duration | 1h 15m |
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