Denis Shapovalov narrowly defeated Yuki Bhambri 3-2 as Canada evened up its best-of-five Davis Cup tie against India at 1-1 on Friday night.
The Canadian teenager needed three hours 52 minutes to take the match, 7-6, 6-4, 6-7, 4-6, 6-1.
Winning the first set 7-6 (2) in a tiebreaker, Shapovalov then turned on the jets and won the next set 6-4, but fell 7-6 (6) in the third and then 6-4 in the fourth.
He would bounce back in a big way during the pressure of the fifth set, however, emerging with a huge 6-1 victory. Shapovalov had 20 aces in the match, compared to only two for Bhambri.
Shapovalov wins to pull Canada even with India at Davis Cup1:03
Shapovalov is currently ranked 51st in the world, while Bhambri is 157th.
The 18-year-old Canadian phenom has been on quite a run this season, going 18-3 since Wimbledon, including wins over the likes of Rafael Nadal and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga at the recent U.S. Open.
Schnur drops 1st match
In the preceding singles match, Brayden Schnur lost 3-1 to Ramkumar Ramanathan.
Schnur won the first set before dropping the next three. Ramanathan took the match 5-7, 7-6 (4), 7-5, 7-5.
Schnur was making his first Davis Cup appearance on the indoor hard court at Northlands Coliseum, subbing in for the first singles match with Vasek Pospisil nursing a back injury.
Match Wrap: Canada’s Brayden Schnur drops 1st Davis Cup match to India1:37
The 22-year-old Toronto native is currently ranked 202 in the world, while Ramanathan, also 22, is 154th.
Schnur trailed the first set 5-4, but rallied back to win it 7-5. The second set was also tight, but Ramanathan battled for the 7-6 (4) victory. The Indian ace then captured the third and fourth sets by 7-5 scores.
Canada entered the event in 16th place in the nations rankings, followed closely by India in 18th.
The Davis Cup tie will continue on Saturday in Edmonton with a doubles match featuring Canada’s Daniel Nestor (world No. 43) and Pospisil (111th) facing India’s Rohan Bopanna (19th) and Purav Raja (56th).
