Malaga, November 27 (BNA): Canada booked a clash with Australia in the Davis Cup final after Felix Auger-Aliassime and Vasek Pospisil defeated Italians Matteo Berrettini and Fabio Fognini 7-6 (2) 7-5 in a decisive match. doubles.
The Canadians will seek their first men’s team title when they take on 28-time champions Australia on Sunday in Malaga, Spain, Reuters reports.
After an early break in the first set, Auger-Aliassime let out a triumphant roar as he converted a break point with a forehand winner in the sixth game and never took his foot off, closing the tiebreak with a header.
Auger-Aliassime, sixth in the singles rankings, harnessed his powerful serve to fend off three break points in the final game and celebrated with a chest bump with Pospisil, who excelled in contention despite starting the week without any clothes after losing his bags. On the way from the Challenger Tour event.
“The Davis Cup is a very lively week and, I would say, the most fun as a player,” Pospisil said. “We have more to do.”
Auger-Aliassime was brought on as a last-minute substitute for the doubles team after countryman Denis Shapovalov lost earlier in the day to Lorenzo Sonego 7-6(4) 6-7(5) 6-4 in a marathon physical match.
“We knew that this week we could make some changes depending on how the singles went and I feel like the whole team connected with that idea and there was no ego in the wrong places,” said Auger-Aliassime.
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“Everyone has a clear idea of the main objective, which is to lift the trophy tomorrow.”
Earlier in the day, Auger-Aliassime served over a dozen aces as he easily beat Lorenzo Musetti 6-3 6-4 to keep Canada alive.
On Friday, Australia reached the final for the first time in 19 years, with a 2-1 victory over Croatia.