Ottawa: Dan Evans, coming off his first ATP final last month in Sydney, downed Denis Shapovalov on Friday to give Britain a 1-0 lead over Canada in their Davis Cup World Group opening-round tie. The 26-year-old from Birmingham needed only one hour and 50 minutes to dispatch 234th-ranked Israeli-born left-hander Shapovalov, Evans denying the Canadian teenager on his only two break chances of the match in the second set. Evans, ranked a career-best 45th and his country’s top player in the absence of world number one Andy Murray, connected on 64 per cent of his first serves and made only 19 unforced errors, 20 fewer than his rival, to put the 2015 trophy winners on top.
Canada’s Vasek Pospisil was set to face Britain’s Kyle Edmund in the second singles match on Friday then partner with Daniel Nestor against Jamie Murray and Dominic Inglot on Saturday in doubles. Reverse singles are set for Sunday. Britain, beaten by Argentina in last year’s semifinals, downed visiting Canada 4-1 in 1967 in their only prior tie. The winner will face either France or Japan in the second round. — AFP
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