Davis Cup: Rafael Nadal secures Spain the title
Rafael Nadal ensured Sunday's Spanish victory in the premier Davis Cup Finals. The 19-time Grand Slam winner beat Denis Shapovalov 6: 3, 7: 6 (7) and made it to the decisive 2: 0 against Canada.
by SID
last edit:
Nov 24, 2019, 09:52 pm
Spain's national hero, Rafael Nadal, flopped onto the court and was buried by his cheering team-mates, and in the stands King Felipe applauded cheerfully: The host team has lived up to its role as favorite and has triumphed at the premiere of the reformed Davis Cup in Madrid. Nadal and Roberto Bautista Agut secured Spain the sixth title in the traditional team competition in the final against Canada.
Just three days after his father's death, Bautista Agut took the Spaniards through a 7: 6 (7: 3), 6: 3 lead over Felix Auger-Aliassime. Nadal made the home win at the first-ever final tournament with a 6: 3, 7: 6 (9: 7) against Denis Shapovalov perfect. Most recently, Spain had won the 2011 title.
Due to the familial fate Bautista Agut had left on Thursday from the team, but on Saturday night in the semi-final victory over Great Britain, he sat back supportive in the pits. "He is a great inspiration for us, whether he plays or not," said Nadal afterwards.
Before the eyes of Spain's King Felipe, Bautista Agut was a class better than the error-prone Auger Aliassime, especially in the second set. The 19-year-old Canadians had denied a match because of an ankle injury since early October and came on Sunday for the first time in the tournament used.
Spain win: Roberto Bautista Agut takes the lead
At the latest after Bautista Aguts transformed match ball after 1:49 hours resembled the sold out with over 12,000 spectators main stadium a madhouse. "It was a very special feeling on the court," said the world ranking ninth.
Especially up to the quarterfinals lack of atmosphere and sparsely occupied grandstands dominated the picture in Madrid. Football star Gerard Pique, who had taken over the Davis Cup last year with his investment company Kosmos for supposedly $ 3 billion, drew a positive conclusion nevertheless. "It was a unique event," he said. "We are very happy with how it went." At least the final day provided a Davis Cup worthy atmosphere.
Nadal's opponent Shapovalov already stood with his back to the wall, and the task could not have been more difficult: Only his very first Davis Cup singles had Nadal lost in 2004, followed by 28 victories in a row. And even the 20-year-old Canadian could not break this proud series and prevent number 29.
In 2015, Shapovalov won the Junior Davis Cup alongside Auger-Aliassime in Madrid. After 25 minutes he had to pull the big favorite Nadal with a break to 2: 4, the US Open winner played the set sovereign down. In the second round, the Canadian fought back bitterly, only in the tiebreak Nadal broke his resistance and put after 1:54 hours the acclaimed final with his third match point.
Also in the coming year, the final tournament will take place in Madrid (23 to 29 November). In addition to this year's semi-finalists Spain, Canada, Great Britain and Russia, France and Serbia are already set as wildcard starters. Germany plays on 6 and 7 March against Belarus for one of the remaining twelve places.
Spain - Canada 2: 0
- Roberto Bautista Agut - Felix Auger-Aliassime 7: 6 (3), 6: 3
- Rafael Nadal - Denis Shapovalov 6: 3,7: 6 (7)