Davis Cup 2022 Winners and Losers

The Davis Cup Finals were the final ATP event of a long 2022 season. Opinions are aplenty when it comes to the Davis Cup, but there were clear winners and losers of this year’s event. We break down all the on- and off-court information you need: 

Davis Cup Winners

Canada

Canada was obviously the big winner. They won the Davis Cup for the first time EVER. It was a historic win led by Félix Auger-Aliassime, Denis Shapolov and Vasek Pospisil. The Canadian contingent beat Germany, Italy and Australia to take home their first trophy. That’s quite a list of historic tennis nations. 

Their road would have been even easier had Shapolov been able to pull out one of his two epic three-set losses (to Italy’s Lorenzo Sonego 76 67 64 in 3 hours and 14 minutes in the semis and his opening 64 36 76 heartbreaker to Germany’s Jan-Lennard Struff). 

While both matches were must-watch, incredibly intense, and full of explosive tennis, they left Canada down 0-1 in the QFs and SFs. Fortunately, Félix was up to the task and evened both ties with solid wins. Canada was able to secure the doubles point in both matches to put themselves into the final. 

In the final against Australia, the proceedings went more according to plan: Denis handily beat Australia’s Thanasi Kokkanakis 62 64 and Felix closed the deal with a 63 64 win over Alex de Minaur. 

Félix Auger-Aliassime

Felix capped off a career-defining year at the Davis Cup. Everyone knew about his (let’s be honest) horrific finals record in his career: 0-8 earlier this year. He ends his year with 4 titles and a solid top player in the game. 

His performances at the Davis Cup encapsulated his maturity: He didn’t drop a set in three singles and one doubles match (with Pospisil). And three of those matches were must-win situations. He handled them perfectly. He led the team with confidence and poise – exactly what you need from your top player. It was a statement event for him heading into 2023.

The Davis Cup Format

This was one of the best and most existing events of the entire year. Sure, most people are aware of the complaints levied at the event (the schedule, timing and changes to a historic event). But the tennis was electric. The fans were enthralled – and loud – throughout. And most importantly, the emotions were flowing. It was truly remarkable to see how the Australians reacted after beating Italy. The tears, the screams…it was all happening. Cheers to a wonderful week that proved this event can be very successful. It will only get better from here. 

Player Standouts

Felix wasn’t the only standout. The format gives players the opportunity to step up, and many of them did: 

• Lorenzo Sonego: Bursting with talent and personality, he was WAY too quiet this year. He lost most of his close matches and came in sputtering. Well, wins over Denis Shapolov and Frances Tiafoe, as well as showing off his monster game, changed that around quickly. Hopefully this springboards him into an exciting 2023. 
• Taylor Fritz: We’ll get to America under the losers section, but let’s be clear: Taylor showed up as the #1 American. He came out confident in a never-in-doubt win against Italy to force the doubles. Taylor has truly transformed into a clutch top player. 
• Jordan Thompson: Who knew Jordan Thompson had it in him? He stepped up in a big way in singles and doubles for Australia. If I’m Lleyton Hewitt, I’ll keep him on the team every year. 
• Alex de Minaur: How inspired was he this week? Scrambling from side-to-side, he showed off his heart, game and speed. Plus, he reminded everyone that he has the best lob in the men’s game. De Minaur was clearly the soul of the Australian team, and he boosted them to the finals. 

Davis Cup Losers

The American team

Yikes. It went from bad to worse for the Americans, who lost their first match to Italy. Their post-match comments and tweets were a disaster. We reported on every detail on and off the court, so enjoy it all again here. 

Canadian (and all) Viewers

It’s hard to not call this event a success. But since it was being played alongside the World Cup, it got very little coverage. It’s hard to compete against Messi and Rinaldo. Not enough people followed along with this epic week of tennis. 

And to make it worse, the Canadian feed went out as Felix was about to serve for the match. The people who were watching missed the last game and the celebration. 

Italy and Spain

As fun as this event was, it was wrecked with injuries. Italy was without it’s two best players (Jannik Sinner and Matteo Berrettini) and Spain was missing world #1 Carlos Alcaraz. All 3 men were injured and didn’t play—except for a surprising substitution for Berrettini in doubles, which he lost. Moving this to a different time of the year or perhaps bi-annually will likely help. Players are beaten up by the end of the year. 

Davis Cup Summary

This was an exciting week of tennis that showed off the athleticism, emotion and personalities tennis has to offer. It truly had it all. It’s just too bad more people weren’t following along.