Denis Shapovalov’s dream week: stuns Casper Ruud to claim first ATP 500 title in Dallas Open
ATP
Denis Shapovalov defeated Casper Ruud in the ATP 500 Dallas Open final, winning 7-6, 6-3 to secure the third title of his career. The Canadian had an impressive week, beating three top-10 players. Previously, he had never defeated more than three top-10 opponents in an entire year, yet he accomplished it three times in Dallas.
It was a stunning run for Shapovalov, as he eliminated the tournament’s top three seeds. He first defeated Taylor Fritz (No. 4) in the second round, then overcame Tommy Paul (No. 9) in the semifinals, before taking down Casper Ruud (No. 5) in the final.
The match started evenly, with Shapovalov earning his first break opportunity in the third game, but Ruud managed to hold serve. It was the only break point of the set, as both players remained solid on serve. However, the Canadian always seemed closer to breaking.
The set was decided in a tiebreak, where Shapovalov prevailed 7-6[7-5]. He was dominant on serve, firing 12 aces compared to just two from Ruud. Shapovalov also won 76% of points on his first serve, while Ruud managed only 65%.
The second set began perfectly for the 25-year-old, who broke Ruud in the second game and quickly raced to a 3-0 lead. Everything was going Shapovalov’s way, while Ruud was on the brink. The Norwegian had a break chance in the third game but failed to convert.
At the end of the match, Ruud raised his level on serve and put pressure on Shapovalov to recover the break on return. However, the former Wimbledon semifinalist showed his class, closing out the victory on serve without conceding a single break.
With this result, Shapovalov returns to the winner’s circle, claiming his first ATP 500 title. This victory will see him make a big leap in the ATP rankings, moving from No. 54 to No. 32—earning him a seeded position for upcoming big events like Indian Wells and the Miami Open. The former world No. 10 will take a couple of weeks off before returning in late February for the Acapulco Open, ahead of the Sunshine Double.
Our 2025 singles champion, Denis Shapovalov 🤩 #DALOpen pic.twitter.com/k0NrSHeZWC
— Dallas Open (@DALOpenTennis) February 9, 2025
Just In
Popular News
Latest Comments
- Bencic is all business right now. If Rybakina is the ice queen, then Bencic is Antarctica—colder, sharper, and seemingly unstoppable. 🔥❄️MrAndreeva07-02-2025
- Creepy.
mandoist07-02-2025 - Ouch!!mandoist07-02-2025
- they need to change the rules on the WTA to limit wildcards more effectively like they have on the ATPSososo06-02-2025
- This is just getting beyond ridiculous!! Not to mention unsportsmanlike and unfair to serious up & coming contenders.mandoist06-02-2025
- No, writer, we were not "stunned". If you knew your business you would have been aware of her statement last weekend re: her knee and retirement. The main take-away here is that Simona went out on her own terms. She surely wanted to play again after WTA & ITIA screwed her out of her final productive seasons. Personally, I believed she was going to make this announcement when I saw the President and his family in their box seats. Good for Simone -- now she can move on to other things as she said she would.mandoist04-02-2025
- It sounds seriously absurd that in Davis Cup, (unlike Grand Slams such as the Aus Open), medical time outs off court with the medical staff are not allowed?? I mean, if this was an Aus Open match, and the same thing happened to Gurin then, he would have been able to go off court for official medical time out and make an informed decision whether to resume the match or retire. How come such conditions do not apply in Davis Cup?? I mean, there with Davis Cup, it is even more like a soccer match or basketball game in that teams are playing. And so as with those, it ought to be the case in tennis that if a player needs serious medical time out, then one of the other team mates ought to substitute and each team needs to have stand-ins or understudies in case substitution is needed which will be rare but as we can see here, this kind of circumstance fits. But even if the teams do not go down the road of subbing other team mates in, in case of a health issue like the one which played out here, at least, as in the Aus Open and other Grand Slams, there ought to be time-outs with the health professionals and at the conclusion of these time-outs, the particular decision that has been reached between them and the player needs to be taken on board by the umpire. PERIOD.
Sueiyin04-02-2025 - "If Novak did this, he would be defaulted for life. WTF." 🤣 WTF sounds like What Tennis Fury?! What Tennis Flurry??! I mean, se-rious-ly, it was actually the unfairness of the silly umpire's decision that is the issue here! Further, how come it was Gurin & his team who got disqualified? If this kind of thing happens in soccer, it would be the other guy getting the yellow or red card! Because after all, it was the Belgian who's foul it was so why then penalize the opponents for something they didn't instigate? Fouls in both basketball and soccer are read as a hinderance that has been caused by the player who INITIALLY instigated the hinderance. In this case, okay, it is tennis, but while the precise rules are different to either soccer or basketball, the same type of recognition as to whoever instigates a hinderance should apply, and in this case, it was the Belgian player.Sueiyin04-02-2025
- Medvedev talking to his form here. "Some actual deep problem." 🤣😂🤣MrAndreeva03-02-2025
- "Hopefully, the team around her will help... " Actually, the lack thereof seems to have been part of the problem(s). Another possibility is that, while dealing with legitimate surgeries, withdrawing, and otherwise passing on events, the competition has stepped-up in intensity while she was busy with traveling, photo shoots, and TV commercials.mandoist03-02-2025
