By Chris Oddo | @TheFanChild | Saturday February 8, 2025
Denis Shapovalov notched his second Top-10 win of the week, taking out defending champion Tommy Paul in Dallas.
Photo Source: TTV
Last year at this time Denis Shapovalov was well outside of the Top-100, playing qualies at Rotterdam, and pretty much an afterthought when it came to conversations about the best players on the ATP Tour.
What a difference a year makes.
High on confidence, and firing on all cylinders, Shapovalov has stormed through the Dallas Open draw, recording two Top-10 wins at the same event for the first time since 2020 and assuring himself of a Top-50 return for the first time since October of 2023.
Shapovalov, who backed up his round of 16 upset of top-seeded World No.4 Taylor Fritz with a straight-sets demolition of rising Czech Tomas Machac on Friday, continued his surge on Saturday with a devastating 7-5, 6-3 victory over defending champion Tommy Paul.
The 25-year-old Canadian reaches his first 500 final since 2022 and sets a final with Norway’s Casper Ruud, who edged Jaume Munar, 6-2, 2-6, 7-6(4) in Saturday’s first semifinal in Dallas.
Former World No.10 Shapovalov has passed the eye test with flying colors this week. He has routinely smoked winners from both wings, defendeed the court exceptionally well, and served with poise and pop.
He saved all three break points he faced against Paul on Saturday, and converted late breaks in both sets to send the World No.9 packing. Shapovalov credits the work he has put in on his serve for his success. He says he rediscovered his timing last fall, at Basel, a few weeks before he won his second career title in Belgrade, and it has paid dividends.
“It’s definitely a big weapon for me… it’s helped me get out of a lot of trouble this week,” he said. “Definitely a big rhythm thing on the serve, it’s easy for it to go off, but when it’s on it helps for sure,” Shapovalov said of his serve.”
The elasticity of Shapovalov’s limbs and the racquet head acceleration he generates has always been a thing of beauty – and a terror for his opponents on tour – but the Canadian has habitually had difficulty maintaining the consistency that will make him elite.
Not this week.
In Dallas he has hit out with courage and routinely hit his targets, even in the pressure-packed moments. Paul took him to deuce or beyond in four of his five service games in the second set in their semifinal, but Shapovalov held the line and eventually converted the critical break for 5-3. He was back at deuce while serving for the match, and needed a second match point to get the job done.
No problem. No nerves – at least none in evidence. Shapovalov finished his win in 94 minutes. He will bid for his third ATP title on Sunday. If this is the version of Shapovalov we are going to see all year, look out Top-10.