Instead, they saw Felix Auger-Aliassime beat their new idol before staying on the hard court to secure a second doubles win and help Canada to a 2-1 upset of Spain in the Davis Cup group stage on Friday . Alcaraz lost 6-7 (3), 6-4, 6-2 to a superb Auger-Aliassime, who withstood the partisan crowd and tilted the match in Valencia after the 19-year-old Spaniard dug deep to claim the first. – tiebreak set. “Felix is a beast. Physically and mentally, Felix is one of the best in the world,” Alcaraz said after his first match since winning the US Open last weekend to become the youngest man to climb to the top of the rankings ATP. “I didn’t come in very good physical shape,” he added. “It was a very difficult day but I have to congratulate him because he played an incredible game.” As the booth roared for Alcaraz, Auger-Aliassime coolly responded by surgically placing shot after shot exactly where he wanted it. He dominated his serve with 16 aces and eventually broke Alcaraz late in the second set and twice in the third. “He’s world No. 1 and credit to that, but today I think I was a little bit better in the third set,” said 13th-ranked Auger-Aliassime. “I wasn’t going to let my team down with my fighting spirit.” Roberto Bautista gave Spain the first point after fighting back to win 3-6, 6-3, 6-3 against Vasek Pospisil. With no time to recover, Auger-Aliassime and Pospisil showed no signs of wear when they came from behind to beat Marcel Granollers and Pedro Martinez 4-6, 6-4, 7-5 in the decider. Canada next plays Serbia on Saturday, while Spain face South Korea on Sunday to determine which two advance to November’s quarter-finals in Malaga, southern Spain. Spain beat Serbia 3-0 on Wednesday while Alcaraz was resting after jetting in from New York where he won his first Grand Slam singles title on Sunday after a grueling run that included three straight wins in five sets. Before the Davis Cup tie, Alcaraz was busy signing autographs and posing for photos after practice. He received the biggest ovation when the Spain team was introduced and was introduced as the “new world No. 1”. After the match, he focused not on the loss, but on the joy he got from returning home. “I wanted to go back to Spain, I mean to share this moment to be No. 1 and to be the US Open champion with all my people,” Alcaraz said. After Spanish fans had to stay up almost all night to watch his matches at the US Open due to the time difference, this was the first chance many of his supporters had to watch him play at home since May, when won the Madrid Open. Alcaraz beat Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic and Alexander Zverev in the capital in what many saw as Nadal passing the torch to his Spanish successor. Red and yellow flags were draped over railings in the stand, including one with the name of Alcaraz’s home region, Murcia, painted in large black letters. Valencia, on the Mediterranean coast, is about 2 1/2 hours north of Alcaraz’s hometown of El Palmar, with a population of 24,000. Alcaraz had just one previous meeting with Auger-Aliassim, in the quarter-finals of the 2021 US Open, when the Spaniard had to withdraw due to injury. While Alcaraz arrived from a grueling two-day stint in the U.S., Auger-Aliassim played singles and doubles on Tuesday to help Canada beat South Korea in their Davis Cup opener. Unable to touch Auger-Aliassime’s serve, Alcaraz drew more cheers from the stands, which included his parents. He pumped his fist at captain Sergi Bruggera and personal trainer Juan Carlos Ferrero after tough points. This proved to be enough for Alcaraz to take the first set tiebreak after Auger-Aliassime’s untimely errors. But Auger-Aliassime never lost the initiative. Canadian captain Frank Dancevic jumped from his seat on the court to cheer when Auger-Aliassime finally broke Alcaraz late in the second set. The Canadian spilled it. Also on Friday, the Netherlands qualified after beating Andy Murray’s Britain 2-1 in Glasgow. The result also meant that the United States advanced from Group D. Germany and Australia advanced from Group C after the Germans beat Belgium 2-1, while Italy beat Argentina 2-1 in Bologna in Group A.
