Team Canada struck first in their opening tie at the 2024 Davis Cup Finals group stage as Denis Shapovalov defeated Argentina’s Francisco Cerundolo in straight sets in the opening match of the day in Manchester.
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.
The Canadians just need to win one of the two remaining matches in the best-of-three tie to claim it.
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.
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.
He was rewarded for his patience the second time the Argentine served for 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.
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.
Félix Auger-Aliassime now has a chance to close out the tie as he takes on Sebastian Baez in the second singles match. The doubles will be played regardless of the result of the singles results. Shapovalov and Vasek Pospisil are expected to play for Canada.
