Shapovalov, Auger-Aliassime lead Canada to 2-1 victory over Argentina at Davis Cup
Squad faces Finland on Thursday before Sunday's battle with host Great Britain
Canada has defeated Argentina 2-1 at the Davis Cup.
Denis Shapovalov of Richmond Hill, Ont., defeated Francisco Cerundolo 7-5, 6-3 in the first singles rubber match on Tuesday in Group D action at the AO Arena in Manchester, England. Montreal's Felix Auger-Aliassime then defeated Sebastian Baez 6-3, 6-3 in the second singles match.
Shapovalov and Vancouver's Vasek Pospisil fell 2-6, 6-3, 6-2 in doubles action against Maximo Gonzalez and Andres Molteni to close the tie.
"I feel great," Shapovalov said. "The last time I played in the Davis Cup, we won the competition, so it was nice to be back and playing at such a high level.
"I've been playing well all year and I want to build on this now."
In singles, Shapovalov had a back-and-forth affair in the first set that saw Cerundolo tie it up after being down 4-2 and tying it again at 5-5 before Shapovalov won the final two games.
WATCH | Shapovalov downs Argentina's Cerundolo in straight sets:
In the second set, Shapovalov cruised to a 4-0 edge before losing three of the next four games and eventually closing it out.
The 25-year-old broke on all four of his opportunities while firing five aces and winning 70 per cent of his first-serve points. Shapovalov also edged out Cerundolo with 13 winners to seven.
In the second match, Auger-Aliassime came back from down 3-2 to win the first set before going up 4-0 in the second. Baez made it tough near the end, winning three of the next four games but the 24-year-old Canadian held him off.
Auger-Aliassime had seven aces and won 78 per cent of his first-serve points while breaking on five of his 12 chances.
"You have no interference from outside conditions, no wind and sun, and that's why I can be consistent in my groundstrokes in these conditions," Auger-Aliassime said.
"It's good to be back in the Davis Cup. There is a great feeling with this team after what we achieved and we want to try and do it again."
WATCH | Auger-Aliassime cruises to victory over Sebastian Baez:
In doubles, the Canadians got off to a hot start but failed to continue their momentum into the second and third sets.
Shapovalov and Pospisil committed all six of their double faults between the final two sets. The duo also committed 46 unforced errors to their opponents' 32, while only breaking on two of 16 opportunities.
Canada, the lone seeded team in Group D, will next face Finland on Thursday before taking on host Great Britain on Sunday.
It is Canada's fifth consecutive appearance in the Davis Cup Finals, having won its lone title in 2022. The Canadians defeated South Korea 3-1 in February's Davis Cup qualifiers in Montreal to reach the group stage of the finals.
Four groups will play across four cities this week to qualify for the Final 8 knockout stage to be held in Malaga, Spain, in November. The top two in each four-team group will advance.
Germany defeats Slovakia
Even without world No. 2 Alexander Zverev, Germany blanked Slovakia 3-0 in Valencia, Spain.
Germany and Slovakia were the first teams in action playing in China in Group C, which also includes the United States. The U.S. plays China on Wednesday.
Germany sent out Maximilian Marterer in the first singles match and the 104th-ranked player won 6-4, 7-5 against Lukas Klein. German Yannick Hanfmann then saved a match point and fought back from a set down to win 3-6, 6-3, 7-6 (3) against Jozef Kovalik in the second singles match.
U.S. Open finalists Tim Putz and Kevin Krawietz completed the German win by claiming the doubles match 7-5, 6-3 against Klein and Igor Zelenay.
After finishing runner-up the past two years, Australia is again among the favourites and later took on France in Group B in the Spanish town of Valencia. Among other big names competing this week are Carlos Alcaraz of Spain and British player Jack Draper, who made it to the U.S. Open semifinals last week.
Italy beat Australia for the 2023 title.
With files from The Associated Press
