NEW DELHI: Unseeded Canadian player Denis Shapovalov continued his impressive run at the ATP Dallas Open on Saturday. He defeated the defending champion, Tommy Paul, in straight sets, 7-5, 6-3, to secure a spot in the final.
Shapovalov's journey has been remarkable, as he previously eliminated world number four Taylor Fritz in the second round.
In the other semifinal match, second-seeded Casper Ruud of Norway faced a tough challenge from Spain's Jaume Munar. After splitting the first two sets, the match went into a decisive third-set tiebreaker. Ruud prevailed 7-6 (7/4) after a hard-fought battle that lasted over two and a half hours.
Shapovalov's victory over Paul, who is currently ranked ninth in the world, was achieved in just an hour and a half. This marks the second top-10 opponent that Shapovalov has defeated in the tournament. His next challenge will be to face Ruud, the world number five, in the final on Sunday.
Ruud acknowledged the difficulty of his match against Munar, stating, "Second and third set (Munar) really stepped it up." He also recognized the mental aspect of the game, admitting that he might have benefited from Munar's nerves as the Spaniard served for the match in the third set. "I know what the feeling is like," Ruud said.
"You can get tight. You kind of see the finish line a few yards in front of you and then you kind of stumble. I've done it myself and I was fortunate to be on the right side of it today."
In the tiebreaker, Ruud took control by hitting a backhand down-the-line winner to grab a 4-2 lead. He extended his advantage to 5-3 when Munar missed a backhand volley, and then went up 6-3 with an overhead smash.
Ultimately, Munar netted a forehand to hand Ruud the victory, leaving their head-to-head record at 4-1 in favour of the Norwegian.
For Ruud, this final represents an opportunity to claim his 13th career ATP title and his third consecutive finals win, following triumphs last year in
Barcelona and Geneva. He holds a 2-0 head-to-head record against Shapovalov, who will be competing in his eighth ATP final and seeking his third title after victories in Stockholm in 2018 and Belgrade last November.
The stage is set for an intriguing final showdown between the unseeded Shapovalov, who has been on a giant-killing run, and the second-seeded Ruud, who has consistently performed at a high level throughout the tournament.
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