(Tennis news) It was Denis Shapovalov who got Canada off to a flying start, defeating Thanasi Kokkinakis 6-2 6-4. The 18th ranked 23 year old broke his Australian opponent twice to take a 4-0 lead and completed the set in 32 minutes. Shapovalov missed out on his first opportunity to serve for the match at 5-2 in the second, thereby allowing Kokkinakis to make a stunning comeback and reduce the lead to 5-4. However, Shapovalov showed no complacency the second time around and secured a win, which meant that victory for Felix Auger-Aliassime would mean Canada will win their first Davis Cup title in history.
The 22 year old had previously defeated Alex de Minaur in straight sets at the Cincinnati Open earlier this year and went into the match confidently, knowing that a victory will finally break Canada’s 109 year old history without a trophy. The sixth ranked player did not disappoint, hitting six aces and 16 winners without his serve being broken and went on to secure a 6-3 6-4 victory to secure the title for his country. The Canada team also comprised Vasek Pospisil, Alexis Galarneau and Gabriel Diallo, who all joined in the celebrations in what is undoubtedly a historic event, not just for the country but for tennis on the whole.
“The emotions are tough to describe. I think all of us here, we’ve dreamt of this moment. I mean these guys around me, except Vasek, he’s a little bit older than me, but we grew up together from the ages of seven, eight years old, back in Canada dreaming of being on this stage, winning these types of matches, winning the Davis Cup, so it’s really a dream come true.
Auger-Aliassime told the Davis Cup media channel.
“For me personally and all the team, that’s what we play for, that’s what sport is for, tennis is for, so it was a great moment. A great moment for myself and the country. We all developed as players individually; we got better and better over the years. We’re more ready for these types of moments but it’s never easy to pull through.”
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