Shapovalov upsets Paul to set up Ruud clash in final

Dallas: Canadian Denis Shapovalov continued his giant-killing run at the ATP Dallas Open on Saturday, beating defending champion Tommy Paul 7-5, 6-3 to book a title clash with second-seeded Casper Ruud.

Norway’s Ruud out-lasted Spain’s Jaume Munar 6-2, 2-6, 7-6 (7/4) to reach the final.

Unseeded Shapovalov, who ousted world number four Taylor Fritz in the second round, needed just an hour and a half to get past a second top-10 opponent in a week in ninth-ranked Paul.

He’ll get a chance at another on Sunday against world number five Ruud, who regained a break in the 10th game of the final set to force the deciding tiebreaker.

Ruud hit a backhand down-the-line winner to grab a 4-2 tie-breaker lead, took a 5-3 edge when Munar was wide with a backhand volley and went to 6-3 on an overhead smash.

Two points later, the Spaniard netted a forehand to hand Ruud the victory after two and a half hours, falling to 1-4 all-time against the Norwegian.

Ruud, who is 2-0 against Shapovalov, seeks his 13th career ATP title and a third consecutive finals win after triumphs last year at Barcelona and Geneva.

Shapovalov is into his eighth ATP final chasing third title after a victory in Stockholm in 2018 and last November in Belgrade. Agencies

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