“Dope” – Nick Kyrgios reacts after Denis Shapovalov joins him and achieves ‘this’ ATP feat

Denis Shapovalov fended off second seed Casper Ruud at the Dallas Open to win his first title of the 2025 season.

“Dope” – Nick Kyrgios reacts after Denis Shapovalov joins him and achieves ‘this’ ATP feat

Nick Kyrgios, Denis Shapovalov (Images via ATP/X)

Denis Shapovalov achieved something that Nick Kyrgios did six years ago. On Sunday (February 9), the Canadian tennis ace beat Casper Ruud 7-6(5), 6-3 to lift the Dallas Open title.

En route to his victory in the ATP 500 event, Shapovalov, the World No.32 and unseeded in the tournament, beat three top 10 players. Shapovalov knocked out 2024 US Open finalist and World No.4 Taylor Fritz in the fourth round in three sets.

YouTube video

After eliminating the top seed and then 6th seed Tomas Machac, Shapovalov came out on top of World No.9 Tommy Paul in straight sets. Six years ago, Kyrgios, who was one of the dominating players on the tour, had knocked out Rafael Nadal, Alexander Zverev, and John Isner before winning the ATP 500 title in Acapulco.

When Kyrgios came across a tweet that highlighted Shapovalov’s feat, the Aussie congratulated him. He wrote, “Well done bro! DOPE STAT.”

Check out his post here:

While Shapovalov is expected to win more in his career with his powerful performance, Kyrgios is just a shadow of his former self, as he has been continuously battling multiple injuries. He had contemplated retirement when he was on the sidelines but made his comeback this year at the Brisbane International where he suffered a first-round exit.

Following Brisbane, Kyrgios registered a straight-set defeat to Jacob Fearnley at the Australian Open. Since then, he hasn’t participated in any ATP events.

Denis Shapovalov wins biggest title of his career

When Denis Shapovalov entered the tournament, he was 11-33 against top 10 players. Upon reducing the gap and winning the biggest title of his career, the 25-year-old climbed to No.32 (from 54) in the ATP live rankings, which will be his highest ranking since September 2023.

Denis Shapovalov
Denis Shapovalov (Image via ATP/X)

There’s a lot to be happy about. Of course, it’s the biggest title of my career. I had a good chance against [Daniil] Medvedev a couple years ago [in Vienna, 2022], but he played a terrific match after losing the first. I’m really happy to stay strong this time and get the win.

Denis Shapovalov said during his on-court interview

This was Shapovalov’s first win of the season and his third career victory. His previous two titles too came on the indoor hard courts, as he lifted the trophies in Stockholm in 2019 and Belgrade in 2024.

Shapovalov started the season with a first-round exit at the Hong Kong Open, following which he suffered a fourth-round defeat at the Adelaide International. At the Australian Open, Shapovalov, who was the quarterfinalist in 2022, fell to Lorenzo Musetti in straight sets in the second round.