The Weekly Recap: Pro Tennis Around the Globe

What happened in pro tennis around the globe in the past week? Plenty. We can't cover it all here but a few key highlights follow below in order to catch you up on all the action...   

Shapo Stuns in Dallas

It was just under five years ago that Denis Shapovalov entered the exclusive top ten in the ATP rankings, with promise of a stellar career ahead. Over the past few years, his ranking has steadily decreased ending in a low point of 339 just a few months ago. But it seems like the Canadien is on the up again, and the fact that he just won an ATP 500 level tournament in Dallas surely speaks to that. After a shaky start against Miomir Kecmanovic in the first round, Shapovalov then dethroned the #1 seed Taylor Fritz in an entertaining 3-set exchange, hinting at a glorious week to come. From there he took down 6th seed Tomas Mahac before destroying another American, Tommy Paul, in the semis. Standing across the other side of the net in the final was Casper Ruud, the 2nd seed and world #5. But this didn't faze Shapo. 

Above: Dennis Shapovalov. Photo Credit: si.robi, CC BY-SA 2.0. Wikipedia Commons

The first set was excruciatingly close. Both players served extremely well giving neither a chance at gaining a break. The Canadien went a bit bigger on his serve---only hitting 68% of his first serve in, but this payed off as he also barreled down 13 aces. Ruud was a bit more consistent at 75%, and this kept him fighting in the first set. Suddenly, the two men found themselves tied at 6 games a piece and entering a tiebreak, which was also uncomfortably tight. Just a couple of points made the difference here, and it was Shapovalov who came out on top with a score of 7-5. 

The second set was extremely comfortable for the eventual champion, he was able to break Ruud's service rhythm and get a break that made all the difference. Serving more consistently in this set, Shapovalov held his own on serve and with break was able to cross the finish line first, 6-3. After the victory, he said: " It’s been very, very difficult. There were a lot of times where I didn’t know if I was going to step back onto the tennis court, if I was even going to come back at all. There were a lot of tough days, even when I started to play. It was difficult. Sometimes I had good days, sometimes I couldn’t even step with my leg because my knee was hurting. Everyone put in so much work and so much sacrifice to not even get me back to the level, but even just to get me back to the court. It’s incredible to be playing the way that I am. I’m definitely very happy to feel like my game is coming back.”

Bencic is the Champion in Abu Dhabi

It's been an unusual week for Belinda Bencic in Abu Dhabi with a lot of mixed results. From completely demolishing some of her opponents to just scraping by others, it was hard to predict how this tournament would end. But the experienced Swiss was able to keep herself in check and make her way through the draw, and eventually raise the trophy. Her first opponent was Rebecca Sramkova who has recently played a high level of tennis and who reached her career high ranking just a couple months ago. And she gave her a good fight taking the match to three sets. But Bencic moved on smoothly after a blistering final set. There isn't much to talk about in her second match as Bencic double-bageled her opponent Veronika Kudermetova. She also comfortably took down Marketa Vondrousova in the quarter-final. In perhaps the toughest challenge yet against #1 seed Elena Rybakina, the world #65 lost the first set before regaining momentum to reach the final. 

Above: Belinda Bencic. Photo credit: Hameltion, CC BY-SA 2.0.  Wikipedia Commons

Her final match against unseeded Ashlyn Krueger was also a difficult task. The American won the first set 6-4, serving well and earning a crucial break. But as seen in her prior match, Bencic had plenty of steam left in the tank. Maybe too much, as the rest of the battle wasn't really a battle at all, it was a complete demolish. Bencic really stepped up the level and raised all levels of her game, defeating the American 6-1, 6-1. 

Bencic said: "It’s been such a special moment. We had great emotions after the match. In the third set, my husband and Bella were cheering me on from courtside … I had an extra boost and extra energy coming from them. When I had my first run after giving birth – that was, I think, after maybe eight or 10 weeks – I couldn’t run, it was crazy. I was like, ‘Oh my god, this is gonna be tough. But then slowly I started building up, and then suddenly the muscle memory kicked in and my body was like, ‘Okay, I know what we’re doing now.’ And from then on, it went a bit smoother.”

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Written by William Turvey. Top Photo: Raph_PH, CC BY-SA 2.0 Wikipedia Commons