Denis Shapovalov didn’t hide his happiness after making it all the way in Los Cabos as the 26-year-old is thrilled to see his work “paying off” after going through an extremely challenging period in his career.
On Sunday, the Canadian tennis star lifted his maiden Los Cabos trophy and his fourth ATP title after making light work of Aleksandar Kovacevic 6-4 6-2. For the former world No. 10, this was his third title since last year’s November – he also won Belgrade in late 2024 and enjoyed a triumphant run in Dallas in February.
But before all this happened for Shapovalov, he experienced a brutal period just two years ago. After struggling with his form in 2023, the Canadian shut down his season after Wimbledon due to a knee issue. When the 26-year-old returned to action at the start of 2024, it went all but smoothly and he even found himself ranked at No. 140 at one point last year.
Now, Shapovalov – who entered Los Cabos as the world No. 33 – is returning to the top-30 and he will sit at No. 28 on Monday.
“We have been working for quite a few years now and it hasn’t been easy coming back from injury. But all the work we’ve done, it is really paying off,” the new four-time ATP champion said.
Shapovalov also showed respect for world No. 76 Kovacevic, praising his game and acknowledging the American’s impressive semifinal win over No. 1 seed Andrey Rublev.
“I want to congratulate Aleksandar on an amazing week. He beat some great players. Honestly, I didn’t watch the match yesterday, but my coach told me you played insane, so, congrats on an amazing week. I think you are an amazing player. I love your game. Obviously, us one-handed backhand [players], we gotta stick together. Definitely love watching you play,” the Canadian told Kovacevic.