Canada Wins Their First-Ever Davis Cup

Canada had to wait 109 years, since its first appearance in the Davis Cup in 1913, to lift its first Silver Bowl. Canada won its first Davis Cup on Sunday by beating Australia 2-0 thanks to the singles victories of Denis Shapovalov and then Félix Auger-Aliassime in Malaga (Spain).

Canada’s journey

In Davis Cup 2022, Canada finished second in Group B behind Spain in September, before eliminating Germany in the quarter-finals (2-1) and Italy in the semis (2-1). In the final, the doubles did not need to be played after Canada’s clear wins in the singles.

Shapovalov first beat Thanasi Kokkinakis 6-2, 6-4 then Auger-Aliassime brought the point of victory by beating Alex de Minaur 6-3, 6- 4, under the eyes of Novak Djokovic and his son Stefan.

Luck by chance

Since the Netherlands eliminated Canada in qualifying in March, Canada has made significant progress. However, the exclusion of Russia, the previous titleholder, left a position as a result of the situation in Ukraine. Serbia should have profited from it, but since Canada had already been invited to final round in 2022, Serbia was left out.

In 2019, the Canadians were beaten by Spain in finals led by Rafael Nadal on a mission. However, this time, Canada became the sixteenth nation to win the Davis Cup. In 2015, Canada had already won the Junior Davis Cup, already with Félix Auger-Aliassime and Shapovalov.

FAA’s individual brilliance

On a personal level, Auger-Aliassime won the fifth title. Including his first four on the ATP circuit, in Rotterdam, Florence, Antwerp, and Basel. At 22, Félix Auger-Aliassime thus ends in 6th place worldwide a season that started in 11th place. He even fell to 13th in September after his elimination in the second round of the US Open. But he didn’t give up and goes on a winning streak of 16 wins and 3 titles. The streak ended in the semi-finals at the Masters 1000 in Paris.