“He was playing top-10, even top-5 tennis”: John Isner hails Denis Shapovalov’s form

John Isner assessed Denis Shapovalov’s impressive form after the Canadian clinched his first ATP 500 title at the Dallas Open. Shapovalov defeated Casper Ruud 7-6(5), 6-3 in the final, marking his third top-10 victory in the same week.

Shapovalov’s strong run has lifted him to world No. 32, putting him in contention for a seeded position in Grand Slams and Masters 1000 events. At 25, he is seeking a career resurgence after several seasons out of the spotlight.

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‘Shapo’ rose to fame at the 2017 Canadian Open when, as a wild card entry, he reached the semi-finals at just 18 years old, defeating first seed Rafael Nadal and Juan Martín del Potro along the way. He became the youngest player ever to reach a Masters 1000 semi-final.

He achieved his career-high ranking of world No. 10 in 2020 at the age of 21, but injuries and inconsistency saw him plummet outside the top 100 in the following years. To date, he has reached four Masters 1000 semi-finals and one final at the 2019 Paris Masters. Additionally, he made the Wimbledon 2021 semi-finals, where he lost to Novak Djokovic.

Although it took him a couple of years, Shapovalov is climbing the rankings again and secured the biggest title of his career at the Dallas Open last week. He defeated Ruud, Taylor Fritz, and Tommy Paul—three top-10 players in the draw—to claim his third ATP title and first at the 500 level.

John Isner praised the 25-year-old Canadian’s outstanding performance: “Shapovalov was incredible, and you sort of got the sense once he beat Taylor Fritz in the second round 7-6 in the third, he was about to take off,” Isner commented.

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“He gained all sorts of confidence. He beat [Tomas] Machac 7-6, 6-0, then took out Tommy Paul in straight sets, then Casper Ruud in straight sets. Three top-10 wins en route to the biggest title of his career.”

“You ask the question, is Shapo back? Watching him play, the answer is yes. He was ripping winners from the back of the court, not double-faulting much, and his one-handed backhand down the line was on fire, especially on passing shots,” he added. “He was incredible, definitely playing top-10 tennis this week. I would say top-5 tennis in the semi-finals, when he played Tommy.”

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