Denis Shapovalov has now won his second career ATP Tour-level title after a great week of tennis at the 2024 Belgrade Open.
For many years, Shapovalov has been recognized as one of the top talents on the ATP Tour. He won the boys' tournament at the 2016 Wimbledon Championships, and early on in his career, some even predicted the young Canadian to reach the World No. 1 rank.
The reality seems very different now. At the moment, he's ranked 78th in the world, and not only bad form but also injuries stopped him in recent times from fulfilling his potential.
On top of that, he had an incident at the Citi Open this year, which saw him disqualified from his quarter-final match against Ben Shelton, something he still can't forget.
However, in Belgrade, he finally found his best tennis again. It's the last ATP 250 tournament of the season, and while it initially seemed that Alex de Minaur might be the top seed at the event to fight for his spot at the ATP Finals, he withdrew from the event, clearing the path for the likes of Shapovalov.
De Minaur's withdrawal from the Belgrade Open came as a result of Novak Djokovic's withdrawal from the ATP Finals, which was symbolic in a way, as the Serbian player was present at the Belgrade Open.
Shapovalov certainly wasn't focused on Djokovic's presence, as he had to show his best tennis to get through his first-round match against Marton Fucsovics.
In the second set, the Hungarian player was three points away from winning the match, but ultimately, Shapovalov handled the challenge and won 6-7(6), 7-5, 6-1 to reach the second round of the event.
He then outplayed Nuno Borges, 6-2, 6-4, and Christopher O'Connell, 6-2, 6-2, to set up a semi-final clash with Jiri Lehecka. The Czech player was a minor favorite, being seeded fourth, but he received a proper tennis lesson.
Shapovalov was everywhere, hitting every corner of the tennis court, winning the match 6-2, 6-1 in only 57 minutes of play to reach the final of the 2024 Belgrade Open.
Awaiting him was home talent Hamad Medjedovic, who has been supported by Novak Djokovic during his tennis career, both financially but the Serbian legend also worked as a mentor for him.
Unfortunately for the young Serbian, Shapovalov was just on another level in Belgrade, and he confirmed that in the final. He was the better player and won in two sets.
The Canadian won the match 6-4, 6-4 to win his second career title, his first since he won at the 2019 Stockholm Open. That was five years ago, and it seems like Shapovalov might be finally turning the page in his tennis career.
He's still only 25, so he has the longer part of his tennis career ahead of him, and this title might just prove to be a springboard for a tennis player who was once called one of the most promising talents on the Tour.
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