Denis Shapovalov came up just short of successfully defending his Los Cabos title, losing 6-3, 6-4 in Sunday’s Mifel Tennis Open final to Arthur Gea.
The Frenchman’s maiden ATP Tour title will bring him into the Top 100 for the first time, while Shapovalov will return to the Top 50.
Having been efficient on break point throughout the tournament, the Canadian struggled to crack Gea’s serve on the evening, breaking just once on seven attempts. The 27-year-old’s double faults caused him some trouble on serve, with seven of his nine coming in games where he was broken.
Shapovalov put Gea’s delivery to the test early on as he managed to force deuce from 40-love in the opening game. The Richmond Hillian then piled the pressure at 2-2, love-40, but couldn’t gain the advantage, failing to convert on a fourth break point before Gea held after nearly 16 minutes.
The double-fault trouble began to roll in for Shapovalov later in the set. The world No. 68 committed back-to-back doubles at 3-4, love-15, to hand Gea triple break point. The Frenchman converted on the second try then served out the opener.
Shapovalov’s second serve came to haunt him again in the new set. At 1-1, 15-all, the Canuck committed three double faults to give Gea the early break. The defending champion responded in the sixth game, holding double break point before eventually forcing the loss of serve on the third attempt, but Gea broke back to stay in the driver’s seat at 4-3.
The world No. 127 then cruised to the winner’s circle, conceding just one service point the rest of the way to complete his breakthrough week with a title.
Shapovalov now returns home to get set for his National Bank Open presented by Rogers opener. The Canadian No. 2 begins play in Montreal on Monday against American Zach Svajda.
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Feature Photo: Sarah-Jade Champagne
