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DAVIS CUP FINALS

November 19, 2019

Paris, France

CANADA 2, USA 1

POSPISIL/Opelka 7-6, 7-6

SHAPOVALOV/Fritz 7-6, 6-3

QUERREY-SOCK/Pospisil-Shapovalov [Forfeited]

Q. Congratulations on making the quarters. Can you tell us what's going on with the doubles? Why did you guys decide you're going to play?
FRANK DANCEVIC: We had a very, very tough two days. You know, the guys put their hearts on the line out on the court and, you know, their bodies are -- they had some injuries that we didn't want to risk going into the doubles today. They couldn't really play at the level they're used to playing. And you know, there was a risk to get hurt going into the practices tomorrow and later on in the week. So it's best to pull out.

Q. Congratulations. I would like to know if it was more difficult yesterday versus Italy and today versus the United States, if you can say that. Also, if you don't think that tonight, in a way, if the United States will win tomorrow versus Italy, they will have the advantage to have won a doubles 6-Love, 6-Love, and they will have the advantage compared to all the other teams who are second.
FRANK DANCEVIC: I wasn't thinking about all of that, to be honest. I mean, I'm thinking about my team. Our guys won, they're injured, they're hurt. We have to make decisions on the spot what is happening now.

And whether Italy or US was tougher, they are both very tough opponents and we played it match by match.

Yesterday, when we played Italy, we weren't focused on the US. We were match by match. It was a tough day. Today was a tough day, too. The guys were a little bit tired going in to playing the US. The US was fresh. They hadn't played a match.

It was very difficult for us. So the guys gave 110 percent to be able to get through and win today.

Q. Canada wins the US Open and Canada beats the US in Davis Cup for the first time ever. Should we be worried about the future of North American tennis?
VASEK POSPISIL: (Laughing.) I don't know. I mean, things are always moving, always changing. Right now, Canada's really in the best place it's been in tennis history. We have incredible young talents in Denis, Felix, Bianca, and then some older guys, which I guess I can say I'm older now, myself now and Milos.

Yeah, so it's just currently right now we're on a run and we have tons of great players. It's just how it goes. It's sport (laughing).

Q. Denis, I get the feeling watching your matches that obviously you're playing extremely well, but I get the feeling the guys you're playing against know that and that's sort of an added advantage to the results you're having lately?
DENIS SHAPOVALOV: Yeah, I mean, of course, I don't know what they're thinking, but I definitely think I'm in great shape and I'm playing some great tennis.

And yeah, I think the last two matches I've been able to really play well. Aside from struggling with the serve a little bit, I think off the ground, off the returns, I played really well and kept the form from Paris.

So hopefully I can just keep that up and bring that into the quarters.

VASEK POSPISIL: Chris, sorry for your text, I completely forgot to respond to it (laughing).

Q. Dancevic, I read an interview that you gave to Vanni Gibertini by ubitennis.com in which you said the doubles would have been very, very important in this event. I'd like you to comment now because the first two matches you won, you didn't need the doubles. And today I was told since the quarters, the doubles may not count. Before doubles was always an important match that you had to play in and win, whether you were 1-All, 2-0, Love-2. Now it can happen that doubles will not be played in quarters, semis, and finals. I would like to know what you think about it.
FRANK DANCEVIC: Well, it depends which way you look at it. I mean, for me, the doubles is very important. At this level, it is very difficult to win two straight singles matches in a row because they're very closes matches and everybody is playing very high level, and anything can happen. And doubles is one-third of the point in every tie. Every team we play against, it's one.

So it's a very big point. It's very important to play good doubles and have a good doubles team. And a lot of times it's going to come to 1-1, in my opinion, and you need -- the doubles is going to decide it. So that's my opinion, it's very important.

Q. For both Vasek and Denis. Australia is a fairly strong possibility for the quarterfinal. Obviously they're a great tennis nation. Especially Denis, you know De Minaur and Kyrgios. How would you feel about matching up against Australia?
DENIS SHAPOVALOV: I think either way, it's Australia or Belgium; right?

VASEK POSPISIL: Australia or Belgium.

DENIS SHAPOVALOV: Either way I think it's going to very, very tough to beat them. They're both great teams. Obviously, they've got some amazing players on their teams.

So, you know, we'll see which team it is first. And of course, if it is Australia, like you said, I do know Alex and you know them as well, and Nick of course.

But I think it comes down to kind of how we're playing. And I think we've been playing some great matches. We are feeling good on the court. So, yeah, I mean, we just have to take it by match.

VASEK POSPISIL: Yeah, I mean, pretty much the same thing. Obviously we don't know who we're playing next. It will be Belgium or Australia; right? So both are tough teams, you know, different players, different kinds of team, different styles of tennis. Either way it is difficult.

I mean, there's not much of a preference. I think it's just, Who do we play, and we play them, and then we go out there and try to win and that's it.

Q. Nothing special about Australia?
VASEK POSPISIL: What do you mean?

Q. (Inaudible.)
VASEK POSPISIL: Yes, I guess. I don't know. To me it doesn't change anything. They're pretty far away from Canada. They speak English, that's true (smiling). Other than that, like, a tennis player is a tennis player, an opponent is an opponent. Yeah.

But, you know, Commonwealth (laughing).

FRANK DANCEVIC: That has to be one of the worst questions you've ever asked.

VASEK POSPISIL: Also one of the worst answers? I don't know how to answer that correctly. How does the Commonwealth have anything to do with, like, the matchup of the players?

Q. (Inaudible.)
VASEK POSPISIL: Yeah, maybe like way back, like a couple of hundred years (laughing).

Q. I'm going to try and top that. Vasek, when you came back from your injury, did you imagine at the end of the year this is where your game would be at?
VASEK POSPISIL: No, no chance. I did not, no chance. No. To be honest, I just wanted to finish the year healthy, that was my goal when I came back. I mean, I had surgery in the lower back. I didn't know, I didn't even know if I'd be, like, get to this level. I mean, I was optimistic, but I'm just saying you never know; right?

I never had to go through an injury like that. I mean, I was still confident I was going to get to this kind of level and play this kind of tennis.

But I didn't expect it to be this quick, no. Especially the last few months, I'm playing -- and also my body's feeling as good as it's felt in the last three or four years since my initial back injury. Also unexpected.

Q. Denis, before you won a tournament a few weeks ago, you hadn't even made a final of an ATP event and then things kept getting better and better. How do you describe these past few weeks and how different do you feel now compared to before winning that title?
DENIS SHAPOVALOV: I don't think I feel much different. Of course, it was a huge step forward for me to, first of all, get into my first finals and, of course, win the title. A little bit of a weight off the back. It's something that me and my team have wanted for a couple of years now.

But other than that, I'm still the same guy. I've been working really hard the whole season and I just really think it's kind of paying off.

Of course, I think Misha has a big impact on it. He's helped me a lot, both on and off the court. At the same time, I think me and my team have put in so much work over the last couple of months, especially when things weren't going my way. And I think that's why I'm able to play such great tennis today.

It's not something that happens overnight. It's a lot of work. So I'm pretty proud with where I am right now and today.

But, you know, at the same time, I don't want to stop here and I want to have a great off-season. Hopefully just put in a lot of work and hopefully have a great start to the year.

Q. Vasek, what do you think of the atmosphere compared to Davis Cups of the past?
VASEK POSPISIL: There's pros and cons. Whenever you make changes there will be pros and cons. I like a lot of things about it. All the players are in one venue. I think it has tremendous potential. Obviously, any time you're starting something new, it might take a few years to really, for that event or that change to really pick up steam and reach its maximum potential, which I think an event like this has tremendous potential.

You know, currently, maybe some of the ties and the crowds aren't as -- it's not a packed house as it would be in the previous format. But I think that just might take a little bit of time.

Obviously, we had -- Team Canada has had a great showing from the overseas contingent. We have great fans, crowd support the last couple of days. I know some of the teams have been lacking on that a little bit but I think that will just change and improve.

Personally, I was just curious, you know, coming here how it would look and how it would be. But I think they've done a really, really good job organizing this event. And they're really trying hard. I think they're coming up to -- they've come up to me, I think they've come up to most of the guys on the team, asking if everything is good and what they can improve. And that's a good mentality. I think we feel pretty comfortable here.

Sorry?

Q. The cons?
VASEK POSPISIL: The cons are definitely -- maybe just the crowd and also just maybe the attention that an individual country can have when you have a Davis Cup tie at home. But as a player, the con is strictly maybe the size and the -- the size of the crowd is maybe not currently what it would be if you're playing in a home tie with a big stadium; right?

But like I said, I think that's pretty much the only con that I can think of right now.

Q. The timing?
VASEK POSPISIL: Yeah, for sure, there's other things you have to work out. It's not perfect. Even -- if you mean timing, like the timing of the matches, for example?

Q. Yes.
VASEK POSPISIL: That's the thing, this is the first year they do it, right. So could they have maybe thought about it or done it differently? Yeah, I'm sure they have thought about it.

There will be feedback that they're going to take and try to improve. The same way they're coming and asking everybody. They want to make this event better and better every year.

So I'm sure that if there are enough complaints or scheduling issues, that will be something they'll address. I think that's natural. So maybe that one slipped by them a little bit this time. I think starting it at 7 p.m. or 6 p.m. is very tough, if you have to go -- look at us, we just played yesterday late. I went to bed at 3:00 in the morning and we started at 4:00, and today we started at 6:00. So I slept six hours and so that's tough. That's the reality.

But I expect them to -- I expect this event to just improve overall.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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DAVIS CUP FINALS

November 19, 2019

Frank Dancevic

Denis Shapovalov

Vasek Pospisil