Canada reached a historic milestone on Sunday, winning their first Davis Cup title. Felix Auger-Aliassime ensured the victory by comfortably beating Australia's Alex de Minaur 6-3, 6-4. This clinical performance in Malaga, Spain, gave Canada an insurmountable 2-0 lead. By defeating Australia—a team with 28 previous titles—Canada became world champions for the first time in the 122-year history of the event. This loss ended Lleyton Hewitt's long-standing goal of returning the trophy to Australia after a two-decade drought. The path to victory began earlier in the day with a strong win by Denis Shapovalov over Thanasi Kokkinakis.
The world no. 6, Auger-Aliassime, once again proved his elite talent, outclassing his opponent with 16 winners to De Minaur's five. The 22-year-old Canadian demonstrated his mental toughness by recovering from a 0-30 hole on his serve to win the match, aided by a lethal forehand. In a moment of pure joy, he sank to the ground behind the baseline as his teammates swarmed him in celebration.
Despite facing three break points early in the opening set, the Canadian stayed composed and shifted the momentum in the eighth game, where a powerful overhead smash earned him a break. The world no. 24, De Minaur, suffered from poor conversion, missing all eight of his break point opportunities. Auger-Aliassime then closed out the first set with a clean ace.
Entering the second set, Auger-Aliassime maintained his poise and confidence, successfully defending two break points in the second game. He later celebrated with a fist pump after breaking his Australian rival in the third game with a brilliant forehand winner.
Showing great grit, he fought back from 0-30 to hold his serve in the sixth game, eventually collapsing in celebration after securing the trophy—a sweet victory for the 2019 runners-up. His success was built on a foundation of consistent baseline play and a strong serve that produced six aces.
Despite not being in peak form, Shapovalov played an aggressive game to beat Kokkinakis 6-2, 6-4, putting Canada up 1-0. It was a surprising turnaround for the 23-year-old, who had struggled throughout the week in Malaga, including a semifinal loss to Lorenzo Sonego while battling a back injury. However, in the final, the left-hander looked refreshed, using his agility and sharp angles to outmaneuver and stun the Australian.
Ultimately, it was a dominant display by the Canadian team. The victory was so decisive that the match didn't even require a final doubles rubber, which would have seen Jordan Thompson and Max Purcell face off against Vasek Pospisil and Auger-Aliassime.