Canada beats Spain to clinch first ATP Cup title

Denis Shapovalov and Felix Auger-Aliassime put in commanding performances against Spanish opponents to win their respective singles matches.

Denis Shapovalov and Felix Auger-Aliassime put in commanding performances against Spanish opponents to win their respective singles matches and fire Canada to the ATP Cup title on Sunday.

Shapovalov showed plenty of aggression to beat Spaniard Pablo Carreno Busta 6-4 6-3 in the opening singles rubber to put Canada one win away from winning the $10 million team-based competition.

World number 11 Auger-Aliassime then served strongly to take down Roberto Bautista Agut 7-6(3) 6-3 and give Canada an unassailable 2-0 lead in the tie.

Canada, the first team in the ATP Cup’s three-year history to have lost a tie en route to the final, were swept by the United States in their group opener and also lost their first match against Britain.

But Auger-Aliassime and Shapovalov, who had contracted the novel coronavirus in the leadup to the tournament, bounced back with tie wins over Britain, Germany and then last year’s winners Russia.

“The emotions are unbelievable. There’s no better feeling than winning. We left everything out there,” said Auger-Aliassime. “We came back from far in this competition, losing our first four matches. But we never stopped believing.

“I think that’s very important. We trust each other to the highest level … it came down to the perfect result. I’m super thrilled for everybody in the whole team and myself, of course.”