Canada's Felix Auger-Aliassime shakes hands with Italy's Lorenzo Musetti after winning his match in the Davis Cup semi final at Palacio de los Deportes Jose Maria Martin Carpena, Malaga, Spain on Nov. 26, 2022.JON NAZCA/Reuters
Canada’s Felix Auger-Aliassime sent over a dozen aces as he beat Lorenzo Musetti 6-3 6-4 to level their Davis Cup semi-final tie with Italy at 1-1 on Saturday after Lorenzo Sonego overcame Denis Shapovalov 7-6(4) 6-7(5) 6-4 in a marathon encounter.
A doubles match with Auger-Aliassime and Vasek Pospisil taking on Matteo Berrettini and Fabio Fognini will decide which country reaches Sunday’s final against Australia on Sunday.
World number six Auger-Aliassime had few issues against Musetti, never facing a break and winning all but three of his first-serve points, as he converted a chance late in both sets to get the 2019 finalists on the board in Malaga, Spain.
Sonego made a sluggish start but battled back from an early break down after finding his groove on serve again to capture the opening set in the tiebreak when an error-prone Shapovalov sent a forehand long.
World number 45 Sonego, who lost in three sets to Shapovalov when the pair last met in Rome earlier this year, saved five set points to hold for 5-5 and took the second set into a tiebreak, but spurned several opportunities to close out the contest.
With the match crossing the three-hour mark, Sonego switched on the after-burners to grab a decisive break in the final game and send the Italian fans in the crowd wild.
On Friday, Australia reached the final for the first time in 19 years with a 2-1 win over Croatia.