Davis Cup: The Canadian team positions itself
Denis Shapovalov and Felix Auger-Aliassime are in strong form coming into the fall of the season. The Canadian team can therefore calculate a lot for the Davis Cup finals.
by Nikolaus Fink
last edit:
Oct 29, 2022, 07:37 pm
by Nikolaus Fink from the Wiener Stadthalle
You really don't have to worry about Canadian men's tennis at the moment. While Felix Auger-Aliassime has been floating on an almost never-ending wave of success for weeks, Denis Shapovalov has also found his way back to success in recent weeks. Since the US Open, the 23-year-old has reached a final (Seoul), a semifinal (Tokyo) and a quarterfinal (Stockholm).
At the Erste Bank Open in Vienna, Shapovalov is now in the final again. "I'm happy with my game and my development," said the world number 19. in the press conference after his semi-final win over Borna Coric. "I feel that I have become much more solid. My consistency shows that. I hope that I can continue like this."
Dry spell after the Australian Open
At the beginning of the season, Shapovalov reached the quarterfinals at the Australian Open, but after that not much went together with the left-hander. "It's been an interesting season for me. I've put a lot of work into training sessions and developing my game. As a team, we felt I was getting stronger, but the wins just didn't come," explained the Canadian.
In Cincinnati and at the US Open he then started to play better: "A lot came together for me. All the work is now paying off." So much so that Shapovalov is now confident of winning the tournament in Vienna. "It's a good opportunity for me to play against a guy like Daniil," said the 23-year-old ahead of the final against Medvedev.
Auger-Aliassime in Basel against Rune
In the meantime, in Basel, around 660 kilometers away, Auger-Aliassime will face Holger Rune in the final. He has no contact with his compatriot, said Shapovalov, but "it's really cool to see that another Canadian is also successful this week." And soon the two could be happy about victories together.
Because at the end of November, the Davis Cup finals will take place in Malaga. Canada first meets Germany in the quarter-finals and - unlike in the intermediate round - can rely on Shapovalov. "It was a difficult decision not to play in September. I felt that I needed a break," said the left-hander, who had a clear goal at the last event of the year: "Of course I want to be part of the team and the Davis Cup trophy with the Canadian boys."
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Here the individual tableau in Vienna
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