Djokovic presents Belgrade trophy as Shapovalov clinches first title in five years

Novak Djokovic attended the final of the Belgrade Open between Denis Shapovalov and Hamad Medjedovic and took part in the award ceremony. The Canadian, former world No. 10, claimed his second professional title (the first in five years) after defeating the young local star 6-4, 6-4.

Although he wasn’t on the court this time, Djokovic stole the spotlight at the ATP 250 final held in his native Serbia. The 24-time Grand Slam champion ended his season early and decided to skip the ATP Finals in Turin due to an unspecified injury. He had already withdrawn from the Paris Masters shortly beforehand.

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While enjoying some downtime with his family in Serbia, Djokovic attended the final of the tournament he won in 2009, 2011, and 2021. The legendary Serbian also reached the final in 2022 but fell to Andrey Rublev (6-2, 6-7(4), 6-0). The 37-year-old player watched the unexpected final between ‘Shapo,’ who came from the qualifiers, and Medjedovic, who received a wildcard from the organizers.

The 25-year-old Canadian and former Wimbledon semifinalist secured seven consecutive wins from the qualifiers and achieved significant victories over Nuno Borges (5th seed) and Jiri Lehecka (4th seed).

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On the other side, the 21-year-old local talent defeated players like Brandon Nakashima (6th seed) and Francisco Cerundolo (3rd seed) to reach his second ATP final (the previous one being the Next Gen ATP Finals, which he won in 2023).

In a strong performance, Shapovalov secured his second ATP 250 title (the first in Stockholm 2019) and advanced his goal of returning to the higher ranks after multiple injuries. The Canadian won 6-4, 6-4 and ensured his return to the top 60 in the rankings, an important step for the start of 2025.

Djokovic participated in the award ceremony and had the honor of presenting the trophy to Shapovalov. The Serbian gave the new champion in Serbia a warm hug. Nole holds an impressive head-to-head record against Shapovalov, leading 8-0 between 2019 and 2023, including the 2019 Paris Masters final and 2021 Wimbledon semifinals.