BELGRADE — Canada's Denis Shapovalov is back in the winner's circle.
The 25-year-old Shapovalov beat Serbia's Hamad Medjedovic 6-4, 6-4 in the Belgrade Open final on Saturday. It's Shapovalov's second ATP Tour title after winning the Stockholm Open in 2019.
He is the first Canadian to win an ATP Tour-level title this season.
His last appearance in a tournament final was in Vienna in 2022.
Shapovalov missed the second half of last season due to injury and spent most of this year regaining his best level of play. He came through qualifying in Belgrade and dropped just one set on his way to winning the trophy.
"It has been a good season for me, just been healthy and back on court," said Shapovalov. "It takes time to climb back up the rankings. A week like this will help a lot."
It's expected he'll move 22 spots up the men's tennis rankings to No. 56, his highest position since he was No. 45 in October 2023.
Shapovalov’s best results this season were at ATP 500 events in Washington and Basel, where he reached the quarterfinals.
Medjedovic was playing in his first-ever ATP Tour final.
The 21-year-old, who won the Next Gen ATP Finals presented by PIF title last year, ends 2024 holding a 9-8 tour-level record on the season.
"It is not easy playing the young guys," said Shapovalov. "He served well and I was trying to do my best to get into his games and I got a bit lucky in the first set to break him.
"I hit a couple of lucky returns and kind of carried that momentum early into the second."
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 9, 2024.
The Canadian Press