Singles wins by Felix Auger-Aliassime and Denis Shapovalov clinched Canada’s first-ever Davis Cup championship on Sunday against Australia in Malaga, Spain.
Shapovalov opened the action with a 6-2, 6-4 victory against Thanasi Kokkinakis and Auger-Aliassime followed up with a 6-3, 6-4 defeat of Alex De Minaur. That gave Canada an unassailable 2-0 lead.
“The emotions are tough to describe,” Auger-Aliassime said, per DavisCup.com. “Denis and I grew up together, dreaming of these types of stages, dreaming of winning the Davis Cup. It’s a great moment for myself and for the country.”
Auger-Aliassime recorded 22 winners, with six aces, and saved all break points he faced against De Minaur in one hour and 42 minutes.
Shapovalov needed only 90 minutes to dispatch Kokkinakis, finishing with 28 winners and 15 unforced errors. He saved three of the break points he faced.
Canada previously lost in the Davis Cup finals in 2019 against Spain and way back in 1913 against the United States. Auger-Aliassime and Shapovalov were part of the team that lost to Spain.
–Field Level Media
Five-time champion Rafael Nadal started his tournament strong as he sailed to a 6-1, 6-0 victory over 16-year-old wild card Darwin Blanch on Thursday in the opening round of the…
Third-seeded Coco Gauff cruised to a 6-0, 6-0 win in 51 minutes against the Netherlands’ Arantxa Rus during the second round of the Mutua Madrid Open on Thursday. Gauff lost…
Chinese teen Juncheng Shang closed out Wednesday’s action with a marathon match, surviving France’s Corentin Moutet 6-7 (9), 6-2, 7-6 (10) at the Mutua Madrid Open in Spain. The first-round…
Coco Gauff reaches Madrid third round with double bagel
Juncheng Shang wins nearly 4-hour battle vs. Corentin Moutet at Madrid
Naomi Osaka finds way to win on clay, defeating Greet Minnen in Madrid
Tatjana Maria comes back to defeat Peyton Stearns in Madrid