At the beginning of 2022, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was sending shout-outs on the social media landscape to his nation’s top tennis stars for their victory at the ATP Cup team event. Led by Denis Shapovalov and Félix Auger-Aliassime, the eighth-seeded squad eked out a win in the semis against Russia, then swept Spain in the final.
In the next major team event, the Davis Cup, the 2019 finalists actually lost their first tie, but got into the finals by way of a wild card. They advanced to the knockout round by finishing second in their group in qualifying play, which included a thrilling come-from behind doubles win by Auger-Aliassime and Vasek Pospisil against Spain.
In the quarterfinals, Canada got by Germany 2-1, then followed that up with a similar score against Italy in the semifinals to set up a final against Australia. Shapovalov got the team off to a perfect start with a straight-sets win against Thanasi Kokkinakis. Auger-Aliassime—arguably the player of the fall—then clinched it by topping Alex De Minaur, also in straights.