Shapovalov, Auger-Aliassime Power Canada Past Argentina at ...

Team Canada could not have asked for a much better start to the 2024 Davis Cup Finals group stage in Manchester as both Denis Shapovalov and Félix Auger-Aliassime delivered straight-set victories in the singles matches to seal the tie against Argentina 2-1.

The two victories followed a similar script, with both Canadian stars getting hot at the end of the first set and racing out to early, insurmountable leads in the second as the 2022 champions took down the deepest team on paper in Group D.

Competing in his first Davis Cup match since the 2022 final when Canada won their first title, Shapovalov was calm and composed, dictating the rallies and keeping his opponent under constant pressure in a 7-5, 6-3 win.

Shapovalov dominated the big points, converting all four break-point chances he had in the match while saving four of six on his own serve. Despite facing more break points in the match, he generally held serve more easily, winning 73 per cent of his first serve points while claiming 67 per cent of his opponent’s second serves.

It was a nervy start from Shapovalov, who had to hold from love-30 down in the opening game and then faced a pair of break points at 2-2. With his back up against the wall, the Canadian was able to find the shots he needed, including a big sliding serve out wide and a backhand winner to save the break points.

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In the following game, Shapovalov pounced when Cerundolo netted a forehand to set up a break point. The Canadian fired a perfect forehand down the line to grab a 4-2 lead. However, he was unable to consolidate as the Argentine broke back in the following game.

As the set went along, Shapovalov continued to settle in during the long rallies. He displayed tremendous patience and rather than pressing too hard for winners, he calmly pushed Cerundolo back with deep, penetrating groundstrokes.

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He was rewarded for his patience the second time the Argentine served to stay in the set. He did pull out a classic backhand crosscourt passing shot to go up love-30 and then pounded Cerundolo into back-to-back errors to break to love and wrap up the opener.

Shapovalov continued to play at a high level early in the second set and his opponent had no answer. In each of Cerundolo’s first two services games of the set, Shapovalov fired backhand winners, one on a return, to set up break points and both times the frustrated Argentine missed a backhand as Shapovalov raced ahead 4-0.

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His level finally dropped a bit as some errors and a poorly-timed double fault ended his six-game run with a break, but Shapovalov was unphased, responding well in his next service game with a hold to love to move ahead 5-2. While Cerundolo pushed as the Canadian served for the match, Shapovalov held to score the first point for his country.

Looking to close out the tie, Auger-Aliassime followed Shapovalov’s lead, taking control of the match midway through the opening set and never letting go on his way to a 6-3, 6-3 win.

While the serve was solid for the Canadian, it was his return that made the difference as he broke five times, all in a row, on 12 break points. He won 51 per cent of the Argentine’s service points.

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It did not take long for Auger-Aliassime to start to assert himself. In Baez’s second service game, the Canadian had a chance for an early break but missed a backhand. Throughout the opening set, it was Auger-Aliassime dictating with his huge hitting. Most points were decided either by the Canadian overpowering his opponent or misfiring.

A clever change of pace though set him up for a break at 3-3 when he whipped out a tight drop shot to go up 40-AD and proceeded to fire a forehand passing shot down the line to seal it. After a quick hold to love, the forehand again did the damage on return as Baez served to stay in the set. One big strike drew an error to bring up a set point and he finished it off with a winner that painted the line.

The second set started out as a carbon copy of the Shapovalov match, with Auger-Aliassime continuing to overpower his opponent and racing out to a 4-0 lead only to see his run, in his case a seven-game streak, end when he was broken in the fifth game.

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Just when it seemed like the repeat would continue with Baez up 40-love as he tried to consolidate (which Cerundolo had), Auger-Aliassime clawed back to deuce and, after missing a couple of break points, was gifted the break back when the Argentine netted back-to-back forehands.

Baez refused to go away quietly, breaking Auger-Aliassime when he served for the match the first time at 5-1. He then saved a pair of match points on his serve in the following game but he was only delaying the inevitable. The Canadian made no mistake the second time he served for it, closing out the tie on the first match point on his serve.

Maximo Gonzalez and Andres Molteni salvaged the tie for Argentina, rallying past Shapovalov and Vasek Pospisil 2-6, 6-3, 6-2 to give their squad a point on day one.

With a victory already sealed, the Canadians initially came out loose and free-swinging in doubles, overwhelming the Argentinians early. The tandem of Pospisil and Shapovalov set the tone with a series of powerful returns to break in the opening game of the match.

A stunning backhand winner from Shapovalov brought up a fifth break point chance in the eighth game of the first set and a missed overhead from the Argentine team gave the Canadians a commanding 5-2 lead.

Pospisil would close out the first set proceedings, firing an ace to wrap it up 6-2 in just 28 minutes.

However, Gonzalez and Molteni had their first moment of scoreboard pressure early in the second set, and a pair of missed volleys from Shapovalov gave them their first break of the match.

That one break advantage would be the difference in the second as an abundance of errors from the Canadian side proved costly. Veteran Gonzalez would earn a tough service hold to secure the set 6-3 in 37 minutes.

Playing more energized, the Argentinian team carried over their newfound momentum into the final set, breaking Pospisil’s serve in the third game for an early 2-1 edge.

After staving off break point chances to hold for 4-2, Gonzalez and Molteni broke for a second time, effectively putting the match out of reach. Molteni would close out the match on his serve, securing the single point for Argentina in the tie.

Canada returns to action on Thursday against Finland.