Team Canada is heading back to Malaga for the third year in a row after Denis Shapovalov defeated Dan Evans in the opening match of Canada’s final tie of the 2024 Davis Cup Finals group stage on Sunday in Manchester.
Coming into the last day of the event, Canada needed just a single match win out of three against the host Brits to clinch top spot in Group D and claim their place in the Davis Cup Final 8. Shapovalov put an end to the potential drama early, beating Evans in straight sets to punch Canada’s ticket and eliminate Great Britain.
After Finland and the Brits themselves failed to score wins that would have guaranteed Canada’s spot in the Final 8 on Friday and Saturday, Shapovalov wasted no time in delivering the knockout blow. Facing both Evans and a sellout crowd of loud British fans at the AO Arena, Shapovalov got out to a quick start and never looked back, leading wire to wire in a 6-0, 7-5 win.
Shapovalov played a strong, aggressive game, winning 89 per cent of his first serve points and firing 19 winners, 10 more than his opponent. He also limited himself to just 15 unforced errors despite some impressive defence from the Brit. The Canadian never dropped serve in the match.
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Both men were playing nervy tennis in the early stages of the match but it was Shapovalov who started to settle in first. In Evan’s first service game, the Canadian whipped out a clever drop shot to set up a break point where the Brit fired a forehand into the net to surrender the early break.
With the wind at his back, Shapovalov found a comfortable level and began to dominate. His serve throughout the opening set was almost untouchable, as he lost just two points on serve and won all 10 of his first-serve points. On return, he continued to take advantage of a passive Evans, who sprayed a forehand to surrender a second break. When he served to stay in the set at 0-5, Shapovalov fired a backhand return winner past the Brit to open the day with a bagel.
Evans started to swing a bit more freely in the second set, finally getting on the board with a hold in the second game. He upped the intensity on the forehand and did a good job of using his variety with the slice backhand to keep Shapovalov from unloading his powerful shots. As a result, the two began trading routine holds.
The Brit had his first true look on Shapovalov’s serve at 4-4 when a couple of forehand errors from the Canadian gave Evans his first and only break points of the day. On both occasions, Shapovalov found his best hitting to escape the jam.
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As the potential tiebreak approached, Evans began to tighten again. He gritted through a tough 10th game but as he served to stay in the match again at 5-6, Shapovalov pounced. The Canadian raced out to a love-30 lead and while the Brit fought back, some clever volleying got Shapovalov to match point where Evans punched a volley long to give the Canadians the point they needed.
Despite the results of the group being decided, the remaining two matches of the tie will still be played. Félix Auger-Aliassime will face Jack Draper in the second singles match with doubles to follow.
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