Denis Shapovalov beat Hamad Medjedovic 6-4 6-4 to claim the second ATP Tour trophy of his career at the Belgrade Open ending a five-year title drought.
Shapovalov played his first final since Vienna 2022. He won his only title in Stockolm in 2019.
The Canadian player will move 22 spots to world number 56 in the ATP Live Ranking, his highest position since he was world number 45 in October 2023. He came through the qualifying round and dropped just one set en route to winning the trophy.
Shapovalov fired 13 aces and won 82% of his first serve points.
Medjedovic held a 9-8 tour-level this season.
Both players went on serve until the ninth game when Shapovalov earned the first break to take a 5-4 lead. The Canadian player served out on his first set point after saving a break point.
Shapovalov broke serve at love in the first game of the second set and held serve at 15 to open up a 2-0 lead. He served out the win on his first match point.
“It has been a good season for me, just been healthy and back on court. It takes time to climb back up the rankings. A week like this will help a lot. It is not easy playing against the young guys. He served well and I was trying to do my best to get into his games and I got a bit lucky in the first set to break him. I hit a couple of lucky returns and carried the momentum early into the second”, said Shapovalov.
