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Germany's Diego Dedura-Palomero achieved a huge milestone with his upset of Denis Shapovalov in the first round of the 2025 BMW Open on Tuesday (April 15), becoming the first player born in 2008 to secure a pro-tour win. The 17-year-old celebrated his breakthrough in a rather unique fashion, though, drawing the Christian cross on the clay before proceeding to lay down in it.
Before this week in Munich, Dedura-Palomero hadn't even contested a match on the ATP Tour as he plied his trade mostly on the Challenger and ITF Futures circuit. The teenager entered the qualifying event at the BMW Open last week but failed to make it to the main draw, losing to Alexander Bublik in the final qualifying round.
However, Diego Dedura-Palomero received a Lucky-Loser (LL) spot into the main draw action in Munich and made the most of it, putting up an inspired display against World No. 29 Denis Shapovalov. Buoyed by home support, the German took the first set against Shapovalov in a tiebreaker that lasted nearly an hour.
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Unfortunately, the 26-year-old was forced to retire against his younger opponent at 0-3 down in the second set, ultimately giving safe passage to the World No. 549 into the second round of the ATP 250 tournament. The occasion clearly meant a lot to the 17-year-old as he expressed his emotions by seemingly re-enacting Jesus Christ's crucifixion at the hands of the Romans.
Dedura-Palomero will next face Belgium's Zizou Bergs for a place in the quarterfinals of the 2025 BMW Open. Shapovalov, meanwhile, is now on a three-match losing streak in tour-level matches.
Denis Shapovalov looking for good results in claycourt season after strong start to 2025
Denis Shapovalov endured a serious knee injury at Wimbledon two years ago that put him on the sidelines for the remainder of the season. While the Canadian subsequently struggled with his ranking in 2024, having exited the men's top 100 due to his absence from the ATP Tour, he scripted an epic comeback earlier this year to climb back in the men's pecking order.
The Canadian won his third career title at the Dallas Open in February in scintillating fashion, downing top-10 opposition like Taylor Fritz and Casper Ruud en route. The 25-year-old then followed up on his ATP 500 title with a semifinal run in Acapulco, where he exited to Spain's Alejandro Davidovich Fokina. He has dropped four of his last six matches, though, and will be eager to put his latest physical setback behind him as the European clay swing progresses.
