CALIFORNIA – MARCH 12: on Day 9 of the BNP Paribas Open at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden on March 12

Rob Shaw took home the gold medal on Friday at the Parapan Am Games in Lima, Peru, defeating World No. 2 David Wagner of the United States to capture the top honours. The Canadian got off to a hot start in the final, racing off to a 4-0 lead in the opening set. He maintained his steady level of play throughout the match, putting on a dominant performance against a skilled opponent. Shaw won the gold medal thanks to a 6-1, 6-3 victory.

“It’s definitely the biggest win so far of my career as far as the magnitude of the stage, the amount of fans in the crowd,” said Shaw. “I’ve had bigger emotional ones for sure, but as far as the complete package, nothing is bigger than winning a gold medal.”

This was his first career victory over Wagner in eight tries. The Canadian becomes the first quad tennis champion at the Parapan Am Games, with the classification making its debut at the 2019 Games in Lima, Peru.

With his win, Shaw also made Canadian tennis history by becoming the first player, able-bodied or wheelchair, to win a multi-sport medal in singles.

“I’m just really happy to be part of the massive tennis movement right now in Canada. You have the US Open right now, with Shapovalov playing really well, as well as Félix and Bianca. There is also Rebecca Marino, who was here last week at the Pan Am Games, Bouchard, Raonic and Pospisil,” commented Shaw. “There’s just a really big tennis wave right now going through Canada and it’s nice just to be a little tiny ripple in that wave. The first medal for us [Canada] is awesome. Daniel Nestor used to win tons in doubles, but it’s hard to capture that singles one. It’s just really exciting to be part of this big movement.”

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