Tennis round-up: Murray claims first title after hip surgery

Britain’s Andy Murray beat Stan Wawrinka 3-6, 6-4, 6-4 to win the European Open title in Antwerp on Sunday.

That is Murray’s 46th ATP title.

Shapovalov captures maiden crown at Stockholm Open

Canada’s Denis Shapovalov captured his maiden ATP Tour title at the Stockholm Open on Sunday, easing past Filip Krajinovic 6-4, 6-4 in the final.

Despite two victories over top-10 opponents in his career, a first trophy had proved elusive for the 20-year-old but Shapovalov was not to be denied by his Serbian opponent who was on a similar quest.

Shapovalov triumphed in style, sending down 16 aces and losing two points on his first serve while saving the only breakpoint he faced in the one-sided, 84-minute contest.

The world number 34 follows in the footsteps of Greek Stefanos Tsitsipas, who lifted the Stockholm trophy for his first tour-level title as a 20-year-old last year.

Tsitsipas was Shapovalov’s second top-10 victim, at the Miami Open earlier this year, following a stunning three-sets victory over Rafael Nadal at the Rogers Cup two years ago to announce himself on the big stage.

Shapovalov will look to carry his good form into the 21-and-under Next Gen ATP Finals starting on November 5 in Milan.

Ostapenko eases past Goerges to claim Luxembourg title

Former French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko proved too strong for defending champion Julia Goerges in the Luxembourg Open final as she cruised past the German 6-4, 6-1 on Sunday.

The 22-year-old Latvian, who captured her first Grand Slam title at Roland Garros in 2017, won the third WTA crown of her career with a solid display in her second final of the year.

Just when she looked like she was shedding the inconsistency that has dogged her game in recent months, Ostapenko was beaten by 15-year-old Coco Gauff of the United States in the Linz Open final last week.

But the Luxembourg wild card was in no mood to let another opportunity slip by in her final tournament of the year, sealing the decider on the back of her superb serve.

“Of course, it’s great to finish the season with winning a title, especially in the last tournament,” said Ostapenko, who fired six aces and won 83% of points off her first serve.

“I enjoyed this week so much. I think I played really well today. I just like to finish the year this way. Especially after making the final last week, I was much more confident in coming to this tournament.”

Bencic and Rublev victorious in Moscow

Switzerland’s Belinda Bencic recovered from a set down to outclass local favourite Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova 3-6, 6-1, 6-1 in the Kremlin Cup final on Sunday to win her second title of the season and fourth overall.

The world number 10 switched gears after losing the opening set, dropping only two of the last 14 games in a stunning show to swat aside the 2014 champion.

“It feels unbelievable right now. I still can’t imagine it,” said Bencic, who on Saturday became the eighth and final player to qualify for the season-ending WTA Finals in Shenzhen.

“I had no pressure going into this match. We were so happy yesterday, celebrating (Shenzhen). This is the cherry on top.”

The 22-year-old will make her debut in the WTA Finals, which take place from Oct. 27 to Nov. 3, offering prize money of $14 million. Ash Barty, Karolina Pliskova, Simona Halep, Bianca Andreescu, Naomi Osaka, Petra Kvitova and Elina Svitolina are the other qualifiers.

In the men’s final, Russia’s Andrey Rublev mowed down seventh seed Adrian Mannarino 6-4 6-0 in 62 minutes on his 21st birthday to seal his first title since 2017.