Gea claims maiden ATP title, ends Shapovalov’s Los Cabos title defence

Arthur Gea won the first ATP Tour title of his career on Saturday, beating defending champion and No. 8 seed Denis Shapovalov of Canada 6-3, 6-4 in the final of the Mifel Tennis Open by Telcel Oppo. The 21-year-old Frenchman, ranked No. 127, will rise to a new career-high No. 81 on the back of the win.

Gea becomes the fourth French ATP Tour champion this season, after Arthur Fils in Barcelona, Quentin Halys in Kitzbuhel and Luca Van Assche in Estoril, and the sixth player born in 2005 or later to win a tour-level title.

It capped a rapid rise for the Frenchman, who reached a career-high ranking as recently as July, built on a season that had already included his first ATP Tour quarter-final in Montpellier in February and the biggest win of his career at this year’s Australian Open, where he beat No. 19 seed Jiri Lehecka to reach the second round on his Grand Slam main draw debut.

“I was really tense, to be honest – first final,” Gea said afterwards. “I was really ready to play it. The plan was the same as in the semis, and I did it, and it was perfect.” His serve and forehand were the reasons of his success in Mexico, he admitted.

Shapovalov happy to be healthy

For Shapovalov, ranked No. 68 but a former world No. 10, the defeat ended an eight-match winning streak in Los Cabos, where he had won the title last year, and denied him the chance to become the first player in the tournament’s history to win it twice. The 27-year-old had returned to the court only weeks after uncertainty over his fitness, and struck a warm note in defeat.

“Very happy to be back on court, healthy again,” he said. “A few weeks ago we didn’t know if I would even be at this tournament, so to be back playing at such a high level, it’s definitely very special.” He also praised his opponent directly: “Huge congrats to Arthur. You’re a tremendous player, man. Such a young career, and already doing so much in the tennis world. Keep playing like this, and you’re going to go very far.”

Gea reached the final beating Coleman Wong 7-6 (7), 6-3, No. 3 seed Francisco Cerundolo of Argentina 6-7 (11), 6-4, 6-0, American Michael Zheng 0-6, 6-4, 6-0, and South Korea’s Soonwoo Kwon 6-4, 6-7 (8), 6-2 across the week. Shapovalov defeated No. 5 seed Cameron Norrie of England 6-3, 5-7, 6-4, Czech Dalibor Svrcina 6-4, 6-2, Mexico’s Rodrigo Pacheco Mendez 6-3, 6-2 and Australia’s Rinky Hijikata 2-6, 6-3, 6-2.