SYDNEY: Canadian Felix Auger-Aliassime stormed through a gripping clash with Spanish star Roberto Bautista Agut for a massive victory that earned his country a maiden ATP Cup title on Sunday. Their Sydney showdown followed Denis Shapovalov ending Pablo Carreno Busta’s winning start to the season 6-4, 6-3 to set the scene for a crunch second singles rubber.

World number 11 Auger-Aliassime beat third-ranked Alexander Zverev during the tournament and again showed his class to down 19th-ranked Bautista Agut 7-6 (7/3), 6-3 and seal the tournament for Canada.

The Novak Djokovic-led Serbia won the inaugural edition of the teams event in 2020, when the Rafael Nadal-led Spain also had to settle for second, with Daniil Medvedev’s Russia earning the title last year.

“The emotions are unbelievable, there is no better feeling than winning, we left everything out there,” said Auger-Aliassime. “We lost our first four matches in this competition, but never stopped believing. “We trust each other, Denis and I and everyone on the team, and I think that is very important. I’m super thrilled for everyone on the team, and of course myself. “Spain is always difficult, they’ve been the best nation in the world for some time.” Canada earned their place in the final after stunning defending champions Russia on Saturday. They also beat Zverev’s Germany and Britain in group matches, bouncing back after crashing to the United States in their opening tie of the tournament.