Canada will settle for runner-up in the men’s Davis Cup final.
The hosts Spain, in front of 12,000 adoring fans – infiltrated by a couple of hundred Maple Leaf wearing, flag-waving Canadian supporters – beat Canada 2-0 in Sunday’s finale in Madrid.
For the first time all week, Canadian captain Frank Dancevic sat out Vernon’s Vasek Pospisil – 3-1 in individual matches during the week – in favour of world 21st ranked Felix Auger-Aliassime, who hadn’t played all week recovering from an ankle injury.
The Montreal teenager was up against Spanish veteran Roberto Bautista Agut (No. 9), who returned after taking time off due to the death of his father, and scored a 7-6, 6-3 win over Auger-Aliassime.
That left things up to the 15th-ranked Denis Shapovalov to beat world No. 1 Rafael Nadal to force a doubles tie that may have seen Pospisil inserted into the final.
Nadal defeated Shapovalov 6-3, 7-6 to win the Davis Cup trophy.
It was Canada’s first-ever final appearance in the 119-year-old history of the event.
Pospisil – ranked 150th in the ATP World Tour rankings prior to the tournament – helped the historic run by going 5-2 in the preliminary round, quarter- and semi-final in singles and doubles.
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