DREAM COME TRUE IN FIRST DAVIS CUP TITLE FOR CANADA
Team had been eliminated in qualifying in March but were handed a wild card into the finals after Russia and Belarus were excluded from event
Felix Auger-Aliassime and Denis Shapovalov fulfilled a childhood dream as they sealed tennis history for Canada with a first Davis Cup title by beating Australia 2-0 in Malaga, Spain.
World number six AugerAliassime eased past Alex De Minaur 6-3, 6-4 to give Canada the trophy in the final at the expense of 28-time winners Australia.
Earlier Shapovalov had given Canada, beaten finalists in 2019 to Spain, the first point with a 6-2, 6-4 win over Thanasi Kokkinakis.
“The emotions are tough to describe,” Auger-Aliassime said
“Denis and I grew up together dreaming of these types of stage, dreaming of winning the Davis Cup. It’s a great moment for myself and for the country.”
De Minaur, ranked 24th, paid for failing to convert any of his eight break points, hitting just five winners as Australia played their first Davis Cup final since 2003. Auger-Aliassime relied on his consistent serve with six aces and solid baseline play.
Shapovalov, meanwhile, was fuelled by his desire for a first singles win over a week.
“Two tough losses this week and I’m very happy with the way I played today to get the win,” he said. “It helped me being in the final before. Last time it was all kind of new, we were relieved just to be there but today we’re very much going for the trophy.”
The 18th-ranked Canadian had been out of sorts in his singles loss in the semi-final against Italy on Saturday but hit back against Kokkinakis with 23 winners to the Australian’s five.
Shapovalov raced to a 4-0 lead after quarter of an hour in Malaga, sealing the first set with his ninth winner after half an hour.
The Canadian staved off three break points in the fourth game of the second set.
Kokkinakis dug in to convert his first break point of four when Shapovalov was serving for the match and held serve but the Canadian was not to be denied, sealing victory on his second match point.
“It was tough to lose in 2019, it was an empty feeling and we wanted it badly this time,’ Shapovalov said. Canada had come a long way since they were eliminated in qualifying by the Netherlands back in March before being handed a wild card into the finals after the exclusion of Russia and Belarus following the invasion of Ukraine.
Canada then finished second in Group B behind Spain in September, before eliminating Germany in the quarter-finals (2-1) and them Italy in the semifinals at the weekend. In the final, Canada’s 2-0 unassailable lead meant that the final doubles rubber did not have to be played.
“Look, I think we were very close today,” De Minaur said. “Just wait until the next time we get the same match-up. Hopefully we can get the win and prove that we can do it.”
But Canada will be tough to beat as long as Auger-Aliassime and Shapovalov play.
Shapovalov is just 23 and Auger-Aliassime 22, but both already have been grand slam semi-finalists and AugerAliassime ended this season as one of the hottest players on the ATP Tour. He won all of his four titles this year, including three straight weeks in October.
He also beat Carlos Alcaraz in the previous Davis Cup stage in September, just after the Spaniard had won the US Open to rise to No 1 in the rankings. That victory helped send the Canadians into the quarter-finals, which they started last week by edging Germany.
“They’re not kids any more, that’s for sure. Not after today – well, not after the last couple of years,” said Vasek Pospisil, the team veteran for Canada at 32. “They’ve been crushing it.”
Denis and I grew up together dreaming of these types of stage, dreaming of winning the Davis Cup
FELIX AUGER-ALIASSIME