Spanish tennis superstar and world No. 1 Rafael Nadal put in a stellar overtime shift to help push his Spain team to their sixth Davis Cup title with a 2-0 win over Canada in the final of the newly-revamped competition.
Eighteen nations gathered in Madrid for the tournament to battle it out over the course of the week in a bid to claim the new Davis Cup title, and a Nadal-inspired Spain ended the week as the last men standing, as he defeated Canada's Denis Shapovalov 6-3, 7-6 to seal Spain's first Davis Cup triumph since 2011.
Also on rt.com Rafa to the rescue: Nadal leads Spain to victory over Russia in Davis CupThe tournament produced a host of dramatic moments, with Nadal playing a starring role as he battled deep into the night to secure vital points for his country as he won all eight of the matches he contested during the competition to take his remarkable winning run in the tournament to 29 matches in a row.
It was also an emotional moment for Nadal's teammate Roberto Bautista Agut, who returned to the team following the death of his father and defeated Felix Auger-Aliassime to put Spain in the driving seat and set up Nadal to finish the job against Shapovalov.
Nadal described the tournament as "an amazing week in every way," and said: "The vital person has been Roberto Bautista."
There were tears on court as Bautista Agut was hugged by team captain Sergi Brughera, while the Madrid crowd chanted "Campiones!" after Nadal put the seal on Spain's victory.
"It was a dream day and all the team members have made an incredible effort, especially Rafa, going to sleep at three, four and five in the morning and the next day going out to play," said Bautista Agut.
"It can only be because we are Spanish."
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