MANCHESTER, United Kingdom — Canada’s top male tennis players have advanced to the quarterfinals of the Davis Cup.

The Canadians defeated the United Kingdom 2-1 on Sunday to win the final tie of the international tennis tournament’s group stage. Canada finished the stage atop the Group D standings and advanced with Argentina to the Davis Cup’s final eight.

Denis Shapovalov of Richmond Hill, Ont., routed Daniel Evans 6-0, 7-5 in the day’s opening singles match before Montreal’s Felix Auger-Aliassime held off Jack Draper 7-6 (8), 7-5.

“I’m definitely very happy to get the win,” said Shapovalov during his on-court interview. “(Evans) is an extremely tough player, he’s a tricky opponent, he fights so well. You saw that in the second set, he was clawing his way back.

“But I don’t think I’ve ever played a cleaner first set in my life, so I’m definitely happy with the level I was able to bring, and I’m super happy to be able to get this win.”

Henry Patten and Neal Skupski beat Montreal’s Gabriel Diallo and Alexis Galarneau of Laval, Que., 7-5, 6-4 in the doubles match but the tie’s result was already decided.

“Obviously, you’re a bit more relaxed, you know, not as much tension,” Auger-Aliassime said when asked post match about his mindset knowing Canada had already qualified for the Final 8. “The ultimate goal of this week is done, but you still try to play a good match and win. I still felt tense in that first set tiebreak,

“I’m not going to lie, but for sure it was great that Denis (Shapovalov) got that win before me.”

Canada emerged from the group stage undefeated, having also beat Argentina 2-1 on Tuesday and Finland 3-0 on Thursday.

Canada and Argentina advanced from Group D. Finland and the U.K. were eliminated.

Four groups have been playing in four cities to qualify for the eight-team Finals in Malaga, Spain, in November. The top two in each four-team group advance.

It is Canada’s fifth consecutive appearance in the Davis Cup Finals, having won its only title in 2022. The Canadians defeated South Korea 3-1 in February’s Davis Cup qualifiers in Montreal to reach the group stage of the finals.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 15, 2024.