Shapovalov claims victory in Los Cabos, securing his second title of the season.

On July 20, 2025, at the Mifel Tennis Open held in Los Cabos, Canadian player Denis Shapovalov defeated American Alexander Kovacevic with a score of 6-4, 6-2, successfully lifting the championship trophy. This marks his fourth ATP Tour title in his career and his second title of the season.

Throughout his championship journey, Shapovalov demonstrated remarkable dominance, never losing more than three games in each set leading up to the final, and he maintained a stable performance in the final match.

This final was their first encounter, where Shapovalov achieved an impressive first serve percentage of 81%, saved the only break point he faced, and hit 15 winners, sealing the victory in just 75 minutes.

After the match, he reflected, “We have worked hard for several years, and recovering from injuries hasn't been easy. But all the effort we put in has truly paid off now.”

This victory has also elevated Shapovalov's ranking. Currently, he has risen 5 spots to 28th in the ATP live rankings. Looking back at his recent form, he ended the 2023 season early due to a knee injury after Wimbledon, dropping to 140th in the rankings last year, but he has steadily improved over the past 10 months. He won a title in Dallas in February, and with this victory in Los Cabos, he becomes the sixth player in 2025 to secure multiple tour titles; he is also the fourth player this season to win a title without dropping a set, joining Hugo Gaston, Taylor Fritz, and Tallon Griekspoor. Notably, this is his impressive performance on outdoor hard courts, having previously won titles on indoor hard courts in Stockholm (2019) and Belgrade (late 2024).

Kovacevic also had a noteworthy performance in this event. Although he did not win the title, he pulled off an upset against world number 10 Andrey Rublev, reaching his second ATP Tour final, where he had the potential to become the eighth player this season to win a title for the first time. With this performance, the 26-year-old rose 10 places to 66th in the ATP live rankings and will achieve a career-high ranking on Monday.

Shapovalov also congratulated his opponent: “I want to congratulate Alexander on a fantastic week; he defeated some very strong players. I didn’t watch that match (the semifinal against Rublev), but my coach told me you played incredibly well, you are a great player, and I love your style. Clearly, we single-handed backhand players need to stick together.”

The matchup between the two also holds special significance—this is the first time since the 2019 ATP Finals when Thiem faced Tsitsipas that two single-handed backhand players have met in a tour-level final.

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