Felix Auger-Aliassime won a singles match and was part of the deciding doubles victory as Canada defeated Italy 2-1 on Saturday at Malaga, Spain, to advance to the Davis Cup final.
Canada will face Australia in Sunday’s title match. It marks only the third time Canada has reached the final, the most recent being when it lost to Spain in 2019.
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Italy took the early lead in the semifinal matchup when Lorenzo Sonego notched a 7-6 (4), 6-7 (5), 6-4 victory over Denis Shapovalov. Sonego had 33 winners against 22 unforced errors while Shapovalov had 40 winners and 32 unforced errors.
Auger-Aliassime recorded 12 aces while registering a 6-3, 6-4 victory over Lorenzo Musetti to even the score. He had 18 winners and 13 unforced errors while Musetti had 11 winners and nine unforced errors.
With doubles left to decide which country would advance to the final, Auger-Aliassime was tabbed to replace Shapovalov and he teamed with Vasek Pospisil for the clinching 7-6 (2), 7-5 triumph over Matteo Berretini and Fabio Fognini.
“We knew we could make changes if we needed to,” Auger-Aliassime said. “The whole team has connected around this idea — the main goal of lifting the cup (Sunday), there are no egos and it’s a great feeling.”
Australia qualified for the final with a 2-1 victory over Croatia on Friday.
This is the first time Australia has advanced to the Davis Cup final since 2003. The Aussies won their 28th Davis Cup title that year.
–Field Level Media
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