World top-15 players Auger-Aliassime, Shapovalov to lead Canada at Davis Cup
Vasek Pospisil also returns from squad that advanced to final tie in 2019 tourney
Felix Auger-Aliassime and Denis Shapovalov will lead Canada at the upcoming Davis Cup Finals international tennis tournament.
Montreal's Auger-Aliassime, ranked 12th in the world, and Shapovalov of Richmond Hill, Ont., ranked 13th, join Vancouver's Vasek Pospisil as returning players from the Canadian team that advanced to the final tie of the 2019 tournament before losing to host Spain.
The event was called off last year because of the coronavirus pandemic.
Brayden Schnur of Pickering, Ont., and Peter Polansky of Thornhill, Ont., will also represent Canada at the tournament, which begins Nov. 25 in Madrid.
Auger-Aliassime, 21, will be representing Canada for the fourth time at the Davis Cup. His successful 2021 season saw him reach the semifinals of the U.S. Open and rise to a career-high 11th in the ATP Tour rankings.
WATCH | Nadal helps Spain clinch 2019 Davis Cup title against Canada:
Shapovalov, 22, will be taking part in his eighth Davis Cup event. He reached the final of the Geneva Open and the semifinals of Wimbledon this year.
The 31-year-old Pospisil will be counted on to provide veteran leadership in his 21st Davis Cup event.
"We came so close to becoming world champions two years ago and, although we know it will be a great challenge, we believe that with Felix, Denis, Vasek, Brayden and Peter, we have a team capable of going all the way," team captain Frank Dancevic said in a news release.
"We start with tough ties against Sweden and Kazakhstan, and all the teams that qualified are very strong, but we are heading to Spain with plenty of confidence that we can achieve our goal."
Recent Davis Cup champions
- 2019 — Spain
- 2018 — Croatia
- 2017 — France
- 2016 — Argentina
- 2015 — Britain
- 2014 — Switzerland
- 2013 — Czech Republic
- 2012 — Czech Republic
- 2011 — Spain
- 2010 — Serbia
Djokovic, Medvedev highlight tourney rosters
Top-ranked Novak Djokovic and U.S. Open champion Daniil Medvedev headline the rosters announced Monday for the Davis Cup Finals.
Djokovic, a 20-time major champion who fell one win short of a calendar-year Grand Slam in 2021, is joined on Serbia's squad by Filip Krajinovic, Dusan Lajovic, Laslo Djere and Miomir Kekmanovic.
Medvedev, who is ranked No. 2 and claimed his first Grand Slam title by beating Djokovic in the final at Flushing Meadows in September, leads a Russian team that includes No. 6 Andrey Rublev, No. 19 Aslan Karatsev, No. 30 Karen Khachanov and Evgeny Donskoy.
Eighteen countries will participate in group-stage matches starting Nov. 25 on indoor hard courts in Madrid; Innsbruck, Austria; and Turin, Italy. After quarter-finals in those cities, the semifinals and final will be held in Madrid.
With files from The Associated Press
