Canada won its first Davis Cup this Sunday in Malaga by defeating Australia 2-0 in the final, in a tie in which Denis Shapovalov, previously denied victory, and Felix Auger-Aliassime, undefeated throughout the final phase, managed the points of victory.
The weight of the 28 salad bowls won by Australia in its glorious history in the competition was of no use to the success of the two Canadian players, aged 23 and 22, world numbers 18 and 6 and, from now on, champions of one of the most prestigious tournaments in world sport. Denis Shapovalov beat Thanassi Kokkinakis 6-2, 6-4 and, to seal the victory, Felix Auger-Aliassime defeated Alex de Miñaur 6-3, 6-4, the easiest tie ever played in Malaga.
Canada thus becomes the sixteenth country to win the Davis Cup, a list that is headed by the United States with 32 titles, followed by Australia, with 28. The list has not been renewed since the Salad Bowl in Argentina in 2016. Auger-Aliassime arrived in Malaga as the player with the best ranking in the final at eight, sixth, and after some splendid weeks (three titles in October), a moment that he extended to Davis with a faultless performance.
He won his match against the German Oscar Otte in the quarterfinals. He got rid of the Italian Lorenzo Musetti, another of the youngsters who should acquire greater prominence in the coming seasons, in the semifinals, and came out half an hour later again on the field to replace Denis Shapovalov in the doubles and form a partner with Vasek Pospisil; they beat Fabio Fognini and Matteo Berettini.
And in the grand final he met another player of his generation, Alex de Miñaur, the one who wanted to bring “a little bit of Spanish blood” to the final -he is the son of a Uruguayan and from Madrid-, but who was overwhelmed by the effectiveness of Auger-Aliassime.
The Canadian, a disciple of Toni Nadal since last year, tripled his rival in winning shots, 16-5. He broke his serve once in each set (for 5-3 and 2-1) and offered the public at the Martín Carpena Sports Palace an exhibition of his forehand, sharp, precise and lethal.
The 0-40 of the sixth game of the second set was the only warning light for Auger-Aliassime, which the Montrealer took three seconds to put out with three shots. For De Minaur, wasting three break points was a burden he couldn’t get rid of anymore. Auger-Aliassime added his victory to the one achieved at the start of the final by Denis Shapovalov, who in the previous rounds had won a doubles clash but lost two singles.
In the coin toss that is all of Shapovalov’s matches, in Málaga only tails had come out. In the final, finally, the coin fell on its heads. His 6-2, 6-4 victory over Thanasi Kokkinakis helped to question Australian captain Lleyton Hewitt’s chance of fielding him and booking Jordan Thompson for a potential doubles match that never came.
Four days after making his debut in the final eight, Shapovalov (18 ATP) focused. He opened the game with two consecutive breaks and found himself at 4-0 that gave him the wings to continue risking and the margin to do it with meaning. Everything he rehearsed, the volley, the drop, the parallel, went well for him. In 33 minutes he had the set in his pocket.
Kokkinakis (95), who had also lost in his only previous game, lost his patience and lavished angry and helpless gestures, despite Hewitt’s enthusiastic support, every time he sat on the bench.
Although she held onto her first serve in the second set, she again fell behind to lose the next. He had three chances to make the ‘counter-break’, but Shapovalov sent his left foot to work and, although he alternated with serious errors, he maintained the advantage.
He roared like a lion when with a right hand he put the score at 4-2. The Australian tried going up to the net, with changes of pace and looking for the corners, but the only thing he managed to do was find himself with another three break points, of which he could only save two.
With 5-2 and serve, Shapovalov gave up his service for the first time with a double fault. With new balls, Kokkinakis served and kept, but could no longer resist the Canadian’s attacks. After an hour and a half of play, Canada took a step forward towards the Salad Bowl. With another hour and 42 minutes left, Auger-Aliassime grabbed it to keep it.
Frank Dancevic, the Canadian captain, and his team rushed to embrace Auger-Aliassime, who was lying on the ground crying. The maple leaf flag draped their weary but proud shoulders.
In 2019 the Canadians already played and lost a final, against Spain in Madrid. Neither Auger-Aliassime, who lost to Roberto Bautista, nor Shapovalov, who lost to Rafael Nadal, could win then. Three more years of experience were decisive in Malaga. Lleyton Hewitt, the biggest detractor of the current Davis format, will have to wait to win as captain the salad bowl that he won as a player on two occasions, 1999 and 2003, against France and Spain in the respective finals.
