ATP 250 Los Cabos: Kovacevic-Shapovalov Final Showdown

In the early hours of Friday to Saturday, the semifinals of the ATP 250 Los Cabos tournament took place in Mexico. The first matchup featured Denis Shapovalov, the No. 3 seed, against Adam Walton, the No. 8 seed. The Canadian, ranked 33rd in the world, lived up to expectations. In a one-sided match, Shapovalov, who completely dominated his opponent (24 winners to 8), quickly took control.

In just over an hour of play, the winner of this year’s Dallas tournament secured his spot in the final (6-2, 6-2) after conceding only 12 games throughout his run this week. He will now aim to claim his 4th ATP title on the day of his 9th final on the main tour.

In the final, Shapovalov will face Aleksandar Kovacevic. The American pulled off a surprise by eliminating world No. 10 Andrey Rublev for the second time in as many meetings, following their match in Montpellier earlier this season.

The world No. 76, however, did not start his match well, getting broken twice in the first set. In the second, he gave up one of his two breaks of advantage but ultimately closed out the set, dragging the tournament’s top seed into a decisive and perilous third set.

In the end, Rublev, who faced 14 break points throughout the match, cracked at the worst moment. Despite hitting 38 winners, Rublev failed to reach the final, allowing Kovacevic to advance to his second career final (3-6, 6-4, 6-4 in 2h28).

Earlier this year in Montpellier, Kovacevic fell to Félix Auger-Aliassime and will now look to claim his first ATP title at 26 years old. Kovacevic and Shapovalov have never faced each other on the main tour, making this first encounter in Los Cabos a high-stakes battle.