Shapovalov sends Canada to Davis Cup Final 8
With the pressure on, Denis Shapovalov delivered for Canada on Sunday to fire the former champion to the Davis Cup Final 8 in Malaga. Needing one point from its winner-takes-all tie against Great Britain, Shapovalov moved past Daniel Evans 6-0, 7-5 to give Canada a 1-0 lead in its Group D tie.
Argentina advanced from Group D in Manchester on Saturday, with its 3-0 victory against Finland leaving Great Britain needing to defeat Canada by the same scoreline to join Guillermo Coria’s side.
However, Evans struggled to impose himself on Shapovalov, who fired 25 winners and saved both break points he faced to earn the crucial point for his nation.
Felix Auger-Aliassime then put the icing on the already-qualified cake when he overcame US Open semi-finalist Jack Draper 7-6(8), 7-5 in two hours and seven minutes. Auger-Aliassime, who avenged his Cincinnati defeat to British lefty Draper, has impressed on the hard courts in Manchester this week, not dropping a set in all three matches.
Canada joins Italy, Australia, Spain, United States, Germany and Argentina in the Final 8. The last spot will be filled by Brazil or Netherlands and will be decided on Sunday.
[ATP APP]In Group C, United States and Germany had already sealed the top two spots and qualification for the Final 8 in Malaga when Chile faced Slovakia on Sunday in Zhuhai.
Nicolas Jarry’s return helped Chile claim a 2-1 victory over Slovakia in the concluding match, partnering Tomas Barrios Vera to take a marathon doubles win over Norbert Gombos and Lukas Klein 6-4, 6-7(3), 7-6(5).
The Chileans squandered three match points in the second set before saving one in reply en-route to the third-set tie-break, in which they won.
The result, twinned with Cristian Garin’s opening victory over Gombos, means that Chile sealed third place in the group ahead of Slovakia, improving their chances of claiming a seeded spot in the 2025 Qualifiers draw.
In Group B, Australia faced Spain in Valencia, where both countries had already qualified for the Final 8. Pablo Carreno Busta overcame Jordan Thompson 2-6, 6-2, 7-6(3) in the opening match to give Spain a 1-0 lead before Montreal champion Alexei Popyrin defeated Pedro Martinez 6-4, 6-4 to level for Australia.
In the deciding doubles rubber Marcel Granollers and Pedro Martinez beat Matthew Ebden and Max Purcell 5-7, 6-4, 6-4. Purcell recently won the US Open title with countryman Thompson.
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