Shapovalov to meet unlikely finalist Gea in Los Cabos

The final of the Mifel Tennis Open by Telcel Oppo in Los Cabos is set, and it pairs a former top-10 talent with one of the most improbable finalists of the season.

Canada’s Denis Shapovalov, the No 8 seed and world No 68, edged fifth seed Cameron Norrie of Britain 6-3, 5-7, 6-4 on Saturday night to reach the title match. It capped a solid week for Shapovalov, who had earlier seen off Czech Dalibor Svrcina (6-4, 6-2), home hope Rodrigo Pacheco Mendez (6-3, 6-2) and Australian Rinky Hijikata (2-6, 6-3, 6-2).

Norrie, ranked No 39, had come through against Bernard Tomic (6-1, 6-0), James Duckworth (6-4, 6-4) and Aleksandar Kovacevic (6-4, 6-1) before running out of road.

Waiting for the Canadian is 21-year-old Frenchman Arthur Gea, who beat Coleman Wong 7-6, 6-3 to reach his first final on the main tour — and, in doing so, secured his entry into the top 100. At 21 years and six months, Gea becomes the sixth Frenchman to reach an ATP final this season and the third-youngest finalist in Los Cabos history.

Remarkably, the player born in 2005 shouldn’t even have been in Mexico. Fresh off the final at the Granby Challenger in Canada, Gea was entered in the Bloomfield Hills Challenger in the United States, but his trip became an odyssey of cancelled flights, delays and airport changes. “We had a direct flight from Montréal to Detroit… but Sunday evening, Air Canada informed me that the plane was damaged and wouldn’t be taking off,” he told L’Équipe. Denied boarding on a rerouted flight because his luggage wouldn’t arrive in time, and then grounded again by bad weather, Gea and his coach scrapped the plan and headed to Los Cabos instead.

He walked straight into the main draw thanks to a string of withdrawals.