Arthur Gea Tops Shapovalov in Los Cabos for First ATP Title

It has been a surprisingly good few weeks for French tennis. Quentin Halys and Luca Van Assche both won titles on the same weekend at Kitzbuhel and Estoril respectively last week, and this week it was World No.127 Arthur Gea’s time to shine.

Gea defeated defending champion Denis Shapovalov in the final, 6-3, 6-4.

“I was really happy every day to win one more match, one more, then one more. And I have finished with a trophy, so it was an amazing week,” Gea said.

Gea, from Carpentras, France, which is about 200 KM south of Lyon, was a former No.8 junior.

He entered the tournament with just eight ATP matches under his belt, but earned wins over Soonwoo Kwon, Michael Zheng, Francisco Cerundolo, Coleman Wong and Cerundolo to capture the title.

Gea scored third-set bagels over Zheng and Cerundolo.

Gea rise to No.82 in the live rankings and will make his Top 100 debut on Monday.

He saved six of seven break points against Shapovalov, including four at 2-2 in the opening set.

“I was really tense,” he said. Gea has recently begun working with a new coach, Andrea Morlet. “I think this week it was my serve and my forehand. It was the focus on four weeks that I had with my coach, and I think it worked really well.”