Malaga, Spain, le November 26, 2022 — Team Canada presented by Sobeys reached the Davis Cup by Rakuten final with a 2-1 victory over Italy in the semifinals on Saturday. Canada, who will be playing their second final in the country’s history, will now face the powerful Australian squad who defeated Croatia 2-1 on Friday.
In the first singles match of the day, Denis Shapovalov (Richmond Hill, ON) unfortunately fell to world no. 45 Lorenzo Sonego after a very close battle [7-6(4), 6-7(5), 6-4] that lasted three hours and fourteen minutes. After defeating the Italian in their last meeting at the Rome Masters in May, the Ontario native was unable to capitalize on his chances this time around, converting only one break point out of 13 opportunities during the match. Although he showed resilience on numerous occasions against a strong Sonego, including coming from behind to level the match in the second set, it was a few technical errors on his part (including nine double faults) that made the difference in the contest.
In his interview after the match, Shapovalov congratulated his opponent for his excellent performance: “I think anyone that watched the match can say that the level was super, super high. I left everything out there, but Sonego was just too good today. I had a lot of opportunities, but he was playing big. He was coming up with some big forehands, some big serves and in important times. Big credits to him.”
However, the second match was a different story for Canada as Quebec’s Felix Auger-Aliassime (Montreal, QC) recorded another singles win over talented 20-year-old Lorenzo Musetti (23rd) in straight sets 6-3, 6-4. As he had done earlier in the week, Auger-Aliassime once again relied on his power (12 aces, 91% first serve percentage) to quickly take control of the match. After winning the first set thanks to breaks in both the sixth and eighth game, he never took his foot off the gas, and didn’t face a break point in the one hour and 24-minute encounter.
The Montreal native didn’t have much time to rest as he was called upon to replace Denis Shapovalov alongside Vasek Pospisil in the decisive doubles match. The Canadian duo had to dig deep after falling behind early in both sets before defeating Matteo Berrettini and Fabio Fognini 7-6(2), 7-5. This is the fifth consecutive time that doubles has decided the outcome of a Canadian Davis Cup tie, and the fourth time that Canada has won. Of note, three of those four wins came courtesy of the tandem of Auger-Aliassime and Pospisil.
“It’s been a special journey, special year, and I’m really proud of everybody’s effort,” said Félix Auger-Aliassime after the tie. “I felt like, once we got on the board in Valencia in the group stage, there was a special energy about the team. I think this is the most complete team that we have had in the history of Canadian tennis, and I feel we deserve to be in that position now. I have said it many times throughout the years, this is one of the goals I think for all the guys to go far and to win it all. It’s the last day tomorrow and we’re ready to give it all.”
“From the first moment we stepped on court, we’re here from the first point to the last point. Doesn’t matter if we’re down a match, a set and two breaks, we’re still going to fight till the end,” said Team Canada’s captain, Frank Dancevic. “The whole team, from the staff to the players, was just an amazing and that got us through today. I’m so proud of this team and so proud of the guys, of what they have accomplished. However, we have another match tomorrow and our ultimate goal is to win the cup. That’s what we are dialed in to do.”
In the final, the Canadian team will face Australia, which is second only to the United States with 28 Davis Cup titles. The tie will get underway at 7:00 a.m. (EST) at the Palacio de Deportes José María Martín Carpena and will be broadcast live on Sportsnet (English) and TVA Sports (French). The official lineup will be announced one hour before the start of the tie.
For more information on the Davis Cup Finals by Rakuten, please click here.
About Davis Cup
Founded in 1900, Davis Cup by Rakuten is the men’s world cup of tennis and the largest annual team competition in sport. 148 nations entered in 2022 and will compete across multiple levels of the competition from regional events to the pinnacle of the Davis Cup by Rakuten Finals. In 2022, the Finals will see 16 nations compete for a chance to be crowned world champions.
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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Marc-Antoine Farly, Manager, Corporate Communications
mafarly@tenniscanada.com or 514-444-3556