Canada won the Davis Cup for the first time by beating Australia in the final in Malaga.<\/span><\/p>\n 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.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n 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.<\/span><\/p>\n “The emotions are tough to describe,” said Auger-Aliassime.<\/span><\/p>\n “All of us here – we’ve dreamed of this moment. It’s really a dream come true.”<\/span><\/p>\n Canada were appearing in only their second Davis Cup final.<\/span><\/p>\n 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.<\/span><\/p>\n Shapovalov, ranked 18th in the world, raced into a 4-0 lead against Kokkinakis before the Australian got a game on the board.<\/span><\/p>\n But after wrapping up the first set comfortably, Shapovalov broke early in the second to put his country on course for a historic win.<\/span><\/p>\n 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.<\/span><\/p>\n 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.<\/span><\/p>\n “We all developed as players individually; we got better and better over the years,” Auger-Aliassime added.<\/span><\/p>\n
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