Shapovalov takes first ATP title with Stockholm Open victory

Canada’s Denis Shapovalov captured his maiden ATP Tour title at the Stockholm Open on Sunday, easing past Filip Krajinovic 6-4, 6-4 in the final.

Despite two victories over top10 opponents in his career, a first trophy had proved elusive for the 20-year-old, but Shapovalov was not to be denied by his Serbian opponent who was on a similar quest.

Shapovalov triumphed in style, sending down 16 aces and losing two points on his first serve while saving the only breakpoint he faced in the one-sided, 84-minute contest.

The world No. 34 follows in the footsteps of Greek Stefanos Tsitsipas, who lifted the Stockholm trophy for his first tour-level title as a 20-year-old last year.

Tsitsipas was Shapovalov’s second top-10 victim, at the Miami Open earlier this year, following a stunning three-sets victory over Rafa Nadal at the Rogers Cup two years ago to announce himself on the big stage.

Shapovalov will look to carry his good form into the 21-and-under Next Gen ATP Finals starting on Nov. 5 in Milan.

Switzerland’s Belinda Bencic recovered from a set down to outclass local favourite Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova 3-6, 6-1, 6-1 in the Kremlin Cup final on Sunday to win her second title of the season and fourth overall.

The world No. 10 switched gears after losing the opening set, dropping only two of the last 14 games in a stunning show to swat aside the 2014 champion.

The 22-year-old will make her debut in the WTA Finals, which take place from Oct. 27 to Nov. 3, offering prize money of US$14 million.

Canada’s Bianca Andreescu, Ash Barty, Karolina Pliskova, Simona Halep, Naomi Osaka, Petra Kvitova and Elina Svitolina are the other qualifiers.

In the men’s final, Russia’s Andrey Rublev mowed down seventh seed Adrian Mannarino 6-4, 6-0 to seal his first title since 2017.

Andy Murray’s comeback story continued with a 3-6, 6-4, 6-4 victory over fourth-seeded Swiss Stan Wawrinka to win the title in Antwerp, Belgium.

The former world No. 1, who’s now ranked No. 243, won his first title since March 2017.

Former French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia won her first WTA final since September 2017 with a 6-4, 6-1 win over second-seeded Julia Goerges of Germany in Luxembourg.

Ostapenko, the 2017 Roland Garros champ, also reached the final last week but fell to teen sensation Coco Gauff in three sets at the Upper Austria Ladies Linz.