On Tuesday, Team Canada prevailed in its first tie in the 2024 Davis Cup Group Stage with a 2-1 win over Argentina at the AO Arena in Manchester, England. The national squad started out the week as the No. 3 nation in the mix and currently leads Group D, which also includes Finland, Great Britain and Argentina.
Denis Shapovalov got the tennis balls rolling for Canada and dismantled world No. 31 Francisco Cerundolo. It was their second clash, and Shapovalov confirmed his upper hand to move up 2-0 in their head-to-head. The former No. 10 was brilliant on serve, racking up six aces (zero for Cerundolo) and converting 100 per cent of break points to seal the deal (7-5, 6-3). As for the Argentinian, he was successful on only 33 per cent of his break opportunities and won 18 per cent of his return games.
“I feel great! It’s amazing being back on the team after a bit of time,” Denis Shapovalov said after the match. “My last appearance was when we won in 2022. It’s always a good feeling to get Canada on the board. It’s great to be back and bring such a high level today. It’s amazing. I really believe in our team this year.”
Up next for Canada was world No. 21 Félix Auger-Aliassime, who took on Argentinian No. 1 and world No. 26 Sebastian Baez for the first time in their careers. All signs point to the Quebecer rekindling the magic of his 2022 run when he won eight of his nine matches and helped Canada bring home its historic title. He clocked seven aces and dominated from the baseline with 26 winners compared to nine for Baez to win 6-3, 6-3.
“It was a great match, and I’m really happy with the win,” said Félix Auger-Aliassime. “It’s great to be up 2-0 for Canada, it’s an amazing way to start the day. Argentina has a strong team, and anything can happen on any given day, but we managed to come through today. I’m excited to see how the week unfolds. The team is great, everyone is happy to be back on the team after our victory in 2022.”
For the doubles match, captain Frank Dancevic dispatched Shapovalov and Vasek Pospisil against Andrés Molteni and Máximo González, who are respectively No. 30 and No. 34 in doubles and have taken home two ATP titles this season. The Canadian pair got off to a solid start, winning the first set 6-2, but the Argentinians quickly found their rhythm and closed out the next two sets and the match 6-3 and 6-2.
“Overall, it was a really good day,” said Frank Dancevic. “It was a tough team, so coming through with a 2-1 win is amazing. Denis [Shapovalov] got us off to a strong start and set the momentum, while Félix [Auger-Aliassime] played an amazing match and did what he needed to do. We were up 2-0, but the Argentine doubles team played well and didn’t really give us any room for error. Now we’ll regroup, scout the next team, and practice to prepare for the next round.”
Team Canada can now enjoy a well-deserved day off before heading into the tie against Finland on Thursday. The matches will be broadcast live on CBC Gem, cbcsports.ca, the CBC Sports app and CBC Sports’ YouTube channel starting at 1 p.m. local time (8 a.m. ET).
Click here to see the draws and schedules.
About Davis Cup
Davis Cup is the World Cup of Tennis. Founded in 1900, it is the largest annual international team competition in sport, with a record 157 nations entered in 2024.
About Tennis Canada
Founded in 1890, Tennis Canada is a non-profit, national sport association with a mission to lead the growth of tennis in Canada and a vision to become a world-leading tennis nation. We value teamwork, passion, integrity, innovation and excellence. Tennis Canada owns and operates the premier National Bank Open presented by Rogers WTA and ATP Tour events, four professional ATP and ITF sanctioned events and financially supports four other professional tournaments in Canada. Tennis Canada operates junior national training centres/programs in Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver and Calgary. Tennis Canada is a proud member of the International Tennis Federation, the Canadian Olympic Committee and the Canadian Paralympic Committee, and serves to administer, sponsor and select the teams for Davis Cup, Billie Jean King Cup, the Olympic and Paralympic Games and all wheelchair, junior and senior national teams. Tennis Canada invests its surplus into tennis development. For more information on Tennis Canada please visit our Web site at: www.tenniscanada.com and follow us on Facebook and Twitter.
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