By Ian Chadband
Thanasi Kokkinakis has been ruthlessly taken apart by Denis Shapovalov as Australia’s bid to win the Davis Cup for the first time since 2003 in the final against Canada got off to a false start.
Captain Lleyton Hewitt had warned of the “firepower” the Canadians possessed and hot-shot Shapovalov, who’s had a mixed week in Malaga, chose the perfect time to display his full repertoire of knifing skills on Sunday as he shredded Kokkinakis 6-2 6-4.
Canada’s Denis Shapovalov reacts as he plays Australia’s Thanasi Kokkinakis during the final.Credit:
The comprehensive defeat left Aussie No.1 Alex de Minaur with the unenviable task of having to defeat the week’s most outstanding player, Felix Auger-Aliassime, in the second singles to keep Hewitt’s side alive.
Hewitt faced a tough dilemma over the opening singles spot, having to choose between Kokkinakis who’d lost his semi-final rubber with Croatia’s Borna Coric, or Jordan Thompson who’d won his quarter-final singles rubber but was needed for the doubles.
Kokkinakis, who hadn’t played a tour singles match for eight weeks before Malaga, looked a little rusty against Coric and, again, started in spluttering fashion against world No.18 Shapovalov.
Kokkinakis started in spluttering fashion against world No.18 Shapovalov.Credit:
But if Kokkinakis, ranked 95, hoped the Canadian southpaw might be misfiring a little after struggling with a back issue during his defeat by Italy’s Lorenzo Sonego in Saturday’s semi-final, he was quickly disabused of the idea.
For this was Shapovalov at his brilliant best, spraying 23 winners in all with rapier-like shots off both wings.
He’d raced into a 4-0 lead almost before Kokkinakis had the chance to find any rhythm and dropped just four points on his own serve as he cleaned up the opening set in just over half-an-hour.
Another break in the third game of the second set effectively spelled the end for the man from Adelaide, even though he offered some resistance in a 14-minute, eight-deuce game when Shapovalov got untidy.
But another double fault from Kokkinakis coughed up another break for the 23-year-old Canadian, who then had his only major blip with an error-ridden game as he served for the match.
Kokkinakis’s reprieve was short-lived, though, as, second time around, Shapovalov served out for victory in 89 minutes.
The second singles will be the pivotal blockbuster between the two star singles players of the week, Australian No.1 de Minaur, going for his 11th singles win in 12 rubbers, and Auger-Aliassime, the top-ranked player of the entire week at world No.6.
The Australians are seeking to win the World Cup of men’s tennis for the first time since 2003, when they beat Spain in the final in Melbourne, and they had arguably the lion’s share of support in the Palacio de Deportes Jose Maria Martin Carpena at the Spanish resort.
AAP
