Great Britain won their Davis Cup tie against Canada in dramatic fashion after teenager Denis Shapovalov was defaulted for hitting a ball into the face of umpire Arnaud Gabas.

Shapovalov was trailing Kyle Edmund 6-3, 6-4, 2-1 and had just been broken in the third set when he smashed in anger a ball that struck Gabas.

It was clearly not intentional from the 17-year-old Wimbledon junior champion, but with Gabas holding his face in pain, tie referee Brian Earley had no choice but to rule a default and leave Britain the victors. Britain move through to a quarterfinal in France in April.

There were boos from the crowd at the TD Place Arena, who had earlier roared Vasek Pospisil to a 7-6(3), 6-4, 3-6, 7-6(5) victory over Dan Evans that set up the deciding rubber. Evans went into the clash as the favourite on both form and ranking -- 45 to 133 -- while Pospisil was publicly wavering about whether to play Saturday evening because of a knee problem.

But the super-fast court played to his strengths -- he served 25 aces and hit 36 forehand winners -- and in the end, he overpowered his smaller opponent.

Pospisil leapt high and threw his racket in the air at the moment of victory. "It feels incredible," he said. "That was definitely the loudest atmosphere that I've played in ever."

The result will be a big disappointment for Evans, who came into the tie in the form of his life after reaching the fourth round of the Australian Open.

"I thought he was going away, and then he started to go for broke," Evans said. "He was hitting the lines a lot, so it's tough. He played well. Obviously, the crowd carried him through. He's been playing terrible for the last however long, and this weekend he's played the best I've ever seen him play.

"That court is suited down to the ground to his play. I don't think I played my best tennis, but on that court, I don't think it's about your tennis. It's about hanging in and taking your chances. It's just disappointing I had the lead in the first and fourth sets and didn't close those sets. I've come through those close matches lately, [but] it went against me today."

Evans had been due to play in an ATP tournament next week in Montpellier, France, but will withdraw in order to give his body and mind some much-needed rest.

He said: "It's more mental. I'm just fed up of seeing a tennis ball coming at me or going past me -- in that match going past me. I just wanted to put everything out on the court for Leon [Smith] and for everybody else, that's all I did.

"I think it would be silly to play anything else. I'm pretty sore, and I've got a few niggles. My feet are in a bit of a bad way."

Source:
courtesy of ESPN

by PA Sport

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