Felix Auger-Aliassime and Denis Shapovalov on Sunday 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 No. 6 Auger-Aliassime eased past Alex de Minaur 6-3, 6-4 to give Canada the trophy in Sunday’s 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.
Photo: AFP
“The emotions are tough to describe,” 22-year-old 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 24, paid for failing to convert any of his eight break points, hitting just five winners. Auger-Aliassime relied on his consistent serve with six aces and solid baseline play.
Meanwhile, Shapovalov was fueled by his desire to secure a first singles win this week.
“Two tough losses this week, and I’m very happy with the way I played today to get the win,” the 23-year-old said.
“It helped me being in the final before,” he said. “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.”
Canada’s 2-0 unassailable lead meant that the final doubles rubber did not need to be played.
“We’ve been dreaming about this for several years,” 32-year-old doubles specialist Vasek Pospisil said. “To be here as world champions I’m speechless. These guys are not kids any more. They’ve been crushing it. You can’t win this event without tremendous team chemistry.”
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