Canada win Davis Cup for first time

3 years ago 56

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Canada's team pile on Felix Auger-Aliassime after his win

Canada won the Davis Cup for the first time by beating Australia in the final in Malaga.

In the opening singles rubber, Denis Shapovalov made up for his defeat in the semi-finals with a 6-2 6-4 win over Thanasi Kokkinakis.

His Canada team-mate Felix Auger-Aliassime, the world number six, then beat Alex de Minaur 6-3 6-4 to give his country an unassailable 2-0 lead.

Canada were appearing in only their second Davis Cup final.

Their first, in 2019, brought defeat by Rafael Nadal's Spain but they got their hands on the World Cup of tennis on Sunday - 109 years after they first played the tournament - at the expense of 28-time champions Australia.

Shapovalov, ranked 18th in the world, raced into a 4-0 lead against Kokkinakis before the Australian got a game on the board.

But after wrapping up the first set comfortably, Shapovalov broke early in the second to put his country on course for a historic win.

Auger-Aliassime faced a tougher challenge in world number 24 De Minaur and was forced to fend off three early break points in their singles rubber.

He finally got a break himself in the eighth game, and after sealing the first set with an ace, he defended two further break points before going on to clinch the title for Canada.

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