Rafael Nadal Leads Spain to Sixth Davis Cup

Carlos Resino Sports Editor, The Pawprint

The Davis Cup is the premier international tournament for men’s tennis. It’s the “World Cup” of tennis. It is organized by the International Tennis Federation (ITF) The competition began in 1900 with the United States winning the first title. The most successful countries over the history of the tournament have been The United States (winning 32 times and finishing runner-ups 29 times) and Australia (winning 28 times and finishing runner-ups 19 times).

This year’s Davis Cup was held in Madrid, Spain. With 6 groups (3 teams in each group).

Spain claimed their sixth Davis Cup yesterday night beating Canada 2 games to 0. Roberto Bautista Agut beat the youngster Felix Auger-Aliassime 7-6, 6-3 and Rafael Nadal defeated Denis Shapovalov 6-3, 7-6.

 “It has been an amazing week,” Nadal said on court after his win. “I could not be happier, honestly. It has been an unforgettable moment here in this amazing stadium. The crowd was just unbelievable, we can’t thank them enough. Our team spirit prevailed. We fought hard.”

Nadal, who is now a four-time Davis Cup titlist, won all eight of his matches this week in Madrid, including five singles victories in which he did not drop a set. The 33-year-old has now won 29 consecutive Davis Cup singles matches, improving his singles record in the event to 29-1.

The win had extra meaning for Bautista Agut, whose father passed away earlier in the week.

“It was a very special feeling on the court today,” Bautista Agut said according to DavisCup.com. 

“I just tried my best on the court and I’m very happy I could win today.”

Spain had most recently competed in the final of the Davis Cup in 2012, when the country fell to the Czech Republic.