Thanks to individual victories from Felix Auger-Aliassime and Denis Shapovalov, Canada won its first ever ATP Cup on Sunday in Australia.
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Maple Leaf defeated Spain in the final of this third edition of this prestigious tournament. It is a rematch for the Canadians as they suffered a loss to the European country in the Davis Cup Final in 2019.
It was Auger-Aliassime, Canada’s captain for the event, who epitomized his team’s 7-6, 6-3 victory over Roberto Bautista Agut.
“The feelings I am feeling now are incredible. There is no better feeling than victory,” said Auger-Aliassime, whose comments were posted on the ATP website.
“We left everything on the field. We have come a long way in this competition, having lost our first four matches. But we have not stopped believing in him.”
Imagine the Canadian tournament, “FAA” had to show flexibility during her last match of the competition. Late 2-0 in the first half, he rolled up his sleeves and resumed his break on the third point. The Montreal native then saved eight break points to finally win the first set. The latter lasted an hour and 25 minutes. The match ended after more than two hours of competition.
«[Dans ce type de situation]You owe it to yourself to go to the extreme, think positive things, and imagine how you would earn that point, as revealed by Auger Eliassim. You have to keep going and you have managed to do it. Sometimes it’s a matter of luck. today [dimanche]I was good at crucial moments.”
“Shapo” starts off strong
Instead, Denis Shapovalov gave Canada the lead in the final by winning the first match of their final showdown against Pablo Carreno Busta.
The match ended in one hour and 40 minutes with a final score of 6-4, 6-3 in favor of Antarian.
The Spaniard got off to a strong start, having won four of his five encounters against Shapovalov. But throughout today’s encounter, “Shapo” used his long reach to dominate the game. He was able to save eight of his opponent’s nine break points and finished the match with seven aces.
The Canadian team also consisted of Brayden Schnur and Stephen Days. Canada is the third country to win the ATP Cup since its inception, after Serbia in 2020 and Russia in 2021.