Tennis Canada – Canadians go undefeated in Halifax this weekend  

Halifax, September 18, 2016 – A day after officially securing the victory over Chile in their Davis Cup by BNP Paribas World Group play-off tie on Saturday, Canada continued winning at the Scotiabank Centre in Halifax on Sunday to complete the sweep with a final score of 5-0. In his Davis Cup debut, 17-year-old Denis Shapovalov (Richmond Hill, Ont.) defeated Christian Garin 7-6(5), 6-4 before Frank Dancevic (Niagara Falls, Ont.) beat Gonzalo Lama 6-4, 6-4.

Junior Wimbledon champion Shapovalov shook off some nerves and rust to take control of his match. Garin had more chances in the early goings, but Shapovalov saved four break points in the first set before winning the tiebreaker. In the second set, the junior world No. 10 was broken at 2-3 but rebounded immediately to break back, and ultimately secured his first Davis Cup win in just 83 minutes. Shapovalov, who acted as a hitting partner for the team in the Davis Cup quarter-finals last year, is currently ranked No. 245 on the pro circuit.  

“It’s incredible to win, it was a lot of pressure knowing I was going to play today,” Shapovalov said. “I hardly slept yesterday. It’s a different match playing for your country, you’re representing your nation so it was tough but I think I controlled myself really well, and fought as hard as I could, and I’m happy I got the win.”

Team Canada had earlier secured the win over Chile, and thus a spot in the World Group for a sixth straight year in 2017, thanks to a straight-sets doubles win by Vasek Pospisil (Vancouver) and Adil Shamasdin (Pickering, Ont.) on Saturday. This came on the heels of Pospisil and Dancevic posting singles victories on Friday to put their squad up 2-0.
 
Canada now turns its attention towards the 2017 Davis Cup competition. The draw for next year will take place this Thursday in London, and will determine Canada’s potential pathway to the title starting with the first round from February 3-5. The draw will reveal Canada’s opening round opponent and if the tie will be at home or away.
 
The Canadian Davis Cup team was playing this tie in memory of Bruno Agostinelli Jr., who passed away earlier this year. Agostinelli Jr. was a coach at Tennis Canada’s national junior training program for U14 players in Toronto and a former member of the Davis Cup team, winning the fifth and deciding match for Canada against Peru in 2009. The team wore special patches this weekend to honour him.
 
About Davis Cup
Davis Cup by BNP Paribas is the World Cup of Tennis. It is the largest annual international team competition in sport, with 135 teams entered in 2016. The competition is 116 years old having been founded in 1900. The title sponsor is BNP Paribas, the Official Bank of Davis Cup. International sponsors are Rolex (Official Timekeeper), Adecco (Official HR Sponsor) and Betway (Official Betting Sponsor). beIN SPORTS is the Official Global Media Rights Partner. Follow all the action onwww.daviscup.com, www.copadavis.com, www.twitter.com/daviscup, 
www.facebook.com/DavisCupTennis, www.Weibo.com/daviscupofficial and www.DavisCup.tv.  

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 Rogers Cup presented by National Bank WTA and ATP World Tour events, 10 professional ITF-sanctioned events and financially supports 12 other professional tournaments in Canada. Tennis Canada operates national junior training centres/programs in Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver, and Calgary. Tennis Canada is a proud member of the International Tennis Federation, the Canadian Olympic Committee, the Canadian Paralympic Committee and the International Wheelchair Tennis Association, and serves to administer, sponsor and select the teams for Davis Cup, Fed 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 website at www.tenniscanada.com and follow us on Facebook and Twitter.
 
Media Contacts (Toronto):
Sarah Grossman, National Manager, Communications and Media Relations, Professional Tennis
       416-650-7922, or sgrossman@tenniscanada.com
Nicole Watts, Manager, Communications
       416-665-9777 ext. 4092, or nwatts@tenniscanada.com

Media Contacts (Montréal):
Valerie Tetreault, Regional Manager, Communications and Media Relations
         514-273-1515 ext. 6259, vtetreault@tenniscanada.com
Justine Poirier, Coordinator, Communications and Media Relations
         514-273-1515 ext. 6291, jpoirier@tenniscanada.com