SYDNEY (AFP) - Canadian Felix Auger-Aliassime stormed through a gripping clash with Spanish star Roberto Bautista Agut for a massive victory that earned his country a maiden ATP Cup title on Sunday.
Their Sydney showdown followed Denis Shapovalov ending Pablo Carreno Busta’s winning start to the season 6-4, 6-3 to set the scene for a crunch second singles rubber.
World number 11 Auger-Aliassime beat third-ranked Alexander Zverev during the tournament and again showed his class to down 19th-ranked Bautista Agut 7-6 (7/3), 6-3 and seal the tournament for Canada.
The Novak Djokovic-led Serbia won the inaugural edition of the teams event in 2020, when the Rafael Nadal-led Spain also had to settle for second, with Daniil Medvedev’s Russia earning the title last year.
Canada earned their place in the final after stunning defending champions Russia on Saturday.
They also beat Zverev’s Germany and Britain in group matches, bouncing back after crashing to the United States in their opening tie of the tournament.
It was a phenomenal effort from Auger-Aliassime who was heavily beaten by world number two Medvedev on Saturday, losing the last nine games in a row.
Both he and Bautista Agut started nervously at Ken Rosewall Arena and Auger-Aliassime was broken on his opening service game, but struck straight back to even it up.
They went with serve in an intense set of long rallies and the Spaniard came through a vitally important ninth game, saving three break points to stay alive.