Canada reach first Davis Cup final

Denis Shapovalov and Vasek Pospisil led Canada to their maiden Davis Cup final with victory in a deciding doubles rubber against Russia in Madrid yesterday.
The 20-year-old Shapovalov had drawn Canada level by beating Karen Khachanov after Andrey Rublev’s win over Pospisil in the opening match.
The Canadian pair then edged out Khachanov and Rublev in a dramatic deciding-set tie-break to set up a final clash against either Britain or hosts Spain today.
It was their third Davis Cup semi-final, after previous last-four defeats in 1913 and 2013.
They secured a 6-3, 3-6, 7-6 (5) victory on their second match point to finish a tie which lasted six and a half hours.
Earlier, Shapovalov had seen off Khachanov, Russia’s leading player in the absence of world number four Daniil Medvedev due to exhaustion, in a dramatic match.
The left-handed rising star, who reached his maiden Masters final in Paris earlier this month, saved three successive break points while serving for the match.
The in-form Rublev had made it four singles wins from as many matches this week by brushing aside Pospisil 6-4, 6-4.
Later yesterday, Rafael Nadal’s Spain were scheduled to take on Britain in the second semi-final.
British captain Leon Smith again decided to leave out three-time Grand Slam champion Andy Murray, instead selecting Kyle Edmund and Dan Evans for the two singles matches.
Edmund will face Pablo Carreno Busta before Evans takes on world number one Nadal and Jamie Murray teams up with Neal Skupski to play Marcel Granollers and Feliciano Lopez.
On Friday, Nadal won back-to-back matches to propel Spain to a 2-1 victory over Argentina for a place in the semi-finals.
Nadal thrashed Diego Schwartzman 6-1, 6-2 to pull Spain level after Guido Pella put the Argentines ahead with a 6-7 (3), 7-6 (4), 6-1 win over Pablo Carreno.
Nadal then teamed with Marcel Granollers to beat Maximo Gonzalez and Leonardo Mayer 6-4, 4-6, 6-3 in a must-win doubles match to see Spain into a final-four clash with Great Britain.
“I had a good singles match, but the doubles came down to a few balls because the game was very close,” Nadal said. “It’s a great victory, but we don’t have time to enjoy it — we have to rest because tomorrow it will be difficult again.”
Britain meanwhile eased into the semis with an efficient 2-0 effort over Germany.
Edmund beat Philipp Kohlschreiber 6-3, 7-5 in the first rubber with Evans taking three sets to see off Jan-Lennard Struff 7-6 (6), 3-6, 7-6 (2).