Tennis: Canada's Denis Shapovalov wins his first-ever ATP title

Denis Shapovalov secured his first ATP Tour title at the Stockholm Open on Sunday. Shapovalov eased past Filip Krajinovic 6-4 6-4 in the final. The 20-year-old who had 0-7 record in ATP Tour semifinals defeated Japan’s Yuichi Sugita to reach the final. The #NextGenATP Canadian is the 15th first-time winner on the ATP Tour this season.

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Denis Shapovalov wins the Stockholm Open

Shapovalov triumphed in style after completely dominating his Serbian opponent Kranjovic. He sent down 16 aces and lost only 2 points on his first serve while he saving the breakpoint he faced in the one-sided contest that lasted 84 minutes. The world number 34 follows the footsteps of Greek Stefano Tsitsipas, who like Shapovalov lifted the Stockholm trophy for his first tour-level title as a 20-year old last year.

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Tsitsipas was Denis Shapovalov’s second top 10 victim after he defeated Rafael Nadal in three sets in a stunning Rogers Cup tie in 2017. Since then, his stocks have dropped a bit, but a victory in the Stockholm Open should be a reminder of his talents to the world. Denis Shapovalov is the 15th first-time tour-level champion of the year. This season has produced the most first-time winners since 1999 when 16 men claimed their first tour-level title. He did not drop a set en route to becoming the first Canadian champion in Stockholm. The fourth seed beat Alexei Popyrin and Cedrik-Marcel Stebe to reach his eighth tour-level semi-final, before snapping his seven-match losing streak in last-four clashes against Yuichi Sugita on Saturday.

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“I am definitely super happy and just really proud,” said Shapovalov on the ATP Tour website. "I and my team have worked really hard to get into this position of lifting a title, so I am really proud of myself and proud of my team right now.” Shapovalov’s title run comes in the same week that he booked his place at this year’s 21-and-under event. The third edition of the Next Gen ATP Finals will take place from 5-9 November at the Allianz Cloud.

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