Málaga (dpa) – After the quarter-final success against the German tennis men, the Canadian selection won the Davis Cup for the first time. In the final in Málaga, the North Americans made the historic victory over Australia perfect after the singles. In their first appearance in the final in 2019, the Canadians lost to Spain in the final.

“We all dreamed of this moment,” said Canada’s best player, Félix Auger-Aliassime, with tears in his eyes, and spoke of the “most beautiful moment” of his young tennis career. “We grew up together and we always wanted to win this title. It’s a special moment for the whole country.”

Under the eyes of top star Novak Djokovic, watching in Malaga after the elimination of the Serbs in the group stage, Denis Shapovalov first beat the Australian Thanasi Kokkinakis 6:2, 6:4. Then Auger-Aliassime, sixth in the world rankings, got the second point with a 6:3, 6:4 over Alex of Minaur Canada.

Strong team energy

Arm in arm, wrapped in their red and white flags, the players celebrated the historic triumph in front of 9,522 spectators. “We had incredible team energy all week and everyone gave 120 per cent,” said Shapovalov, who won his first singles in Malaga after two previous defeats on Sunday.

Germany were eliminated in the quarter-finals on Thursday without Alexander Zverev. The German Tennis Association is still awaiting its first triumph since 1993 in the reformed team competition. Next year, the DTB team will kick off the Davis Cup with a home game in Trier against Switzerland in early February.

© dpa-infocom, dpa:221127-99-684057/3