The Baseline Top 5: Davis Cup moments from the first round

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The Baseline Top 5: Davis Cup moments from the first round

Monumental wins, hot shots and fervent crowds marked the debut of the revised event.

ByVan Sias

Published Feb 03, 2019

The first weekend of the revised Davis Cup is in the books and the finals field is now set for November.

While there was plenty of concern how the changes would go over, it was evident that staples of the old competition remained: upsets, stellar debuts and dramatic wins were all on display. Here’s five of the noteworthy moments from the qualifiers.

1

YOUTH IS SERVED

Canada’s young duo of Denis Shapovalov and Felix-Auger Aliassime played all five rubbers between them, and debutant Aliassime clinched the away tie for the team.

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2

HISTORY IS MADE

In the old format, Colombia never broke through to the World Group. Now, spearheaded by its top doubles team of Robert Farah and Juan Sebastian Cabal, the country will be closer to the title than it’s ever been.

3

DOUBLES SURPRISE

Speaking of doubles, one of the biggest upsets over the weekend occurred when Belgium’s Joran Vliegen and Sander Gille knocked off two of the best in the business, Bruno Soares and Marcelo Melo. That turned the tide on the tie, and helped Belgium make it through to Madrid.

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4

PASSING THE TORCH

Former world No. 9 Nicolas Massu starred in international competition for Chile, winning multiple medals at the Olympics. Now as Davis Cup captain, he’s guided his team to the Davis Cup finals with a 3-2 win over Austria.

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5

THE HOTTEST OF THE HOT SHOTS

Davis Cup often inspires players to empty out their bags of tricks in service of their country and this weekend’s competition was no exception.

Follow Van on Twitter: @Van_Sias