Denis Shapovalov is back in the winner’s circle at the Belgrade Open after defeating local favourite Hamad Medjedovic in straight sets in the final on Saturday. It is the second ATP Tour title of the Canadian’s career and first since 2019.
It took seven matches for Shapovalov to lift the trophy in Serbia as he needed to come through qualifying. But he was more than up to the challenge, dropping just one set in Belgrade and dominating his last four matches, finishing it off with a 6-4, 6-4 win over the 21-year-old Medjedovic, who was contesting his first ATP Tour final.
The win also snaps a five-match losing streak in finals for Shapovalov, who had not won since winning his first title in his first final in Stockholm in 2019.
As he did for much of the week, Shapovalov relied on his dominant serve to claim victory. In the final, he fired 13 aces and won 82 per cent of his first-serve points. He won every break point in the match, saving both on his own serve and converting his two chances on the Serbian’s.
A 45-minute delay to the start of the match did seem to throw off either man in the early stages, as both held serve with relative ease through the first eight games.
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Medjedovic looked primed to make it nine straight holds when he led 30-love on his own serve at 4-4 but Shapovalov managed to battle back into the game. From 30-all, the Serb sliced a backhand into the net to set up the first break point of the match and then missed a midcourt forehand well wide to set Shapovalov up to serve out the set.
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The wheels were falling off for Medjedovic as he played a nightmare game to start the second set, committing a slew of errors before double-faulting to hand a love break to the Canadian.
It was then Shapovalov’s turn to struggle on serve for the first time in the match as he fell behind 15-40 in the next game but his delivery bailed him out. The Canadian fired two big serves to erase the break points and went on to hold, wrapping up the 10-game opening set in just 32 minutes.
Given that Shapovalov had not been broken since his first service game in his first-round main draw match, the early break in the second set felt like a stranglehold for the Canadian. It proved to be true as Shapovalov was never threatened on serve the rest of the way.
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The closest Medjedovic came to getting the break back was in the eighth game when he had a 15-30 edge on the Canadian’s serve but Shapovalov was able to win the next three points to hold. He did not lose more than two points in a service game in the set and when it came time to serve it out, unlike the first set where he had to battle, Shapovalov slammed the door with a hold to love.
Shapovalov is one of two Canadian winners on Saturday as Gabriela Dabrowski was victorious at the WTA Finals. He will now hope to carry the good form to Malaga, Spain, where he will lead Team Canada’s bid for a second title at the Davis Cup.