adminPARIS. – Britain was defaulted into the Davis Cup tennis quarter-finals on Sunday while Spain edged Croatia to advance and defending champion Argentina battled Italy into a decisive fifth match at a rain-hit tie.Canada’s Denis Shapovalov hit chair umpire Arnaud Gabas in the face with a ball and was defaulted in the deciding match, handing Britain’s Kyle Edmund a 6-3, 6-4, 2-1 triumph and giving Britain a 3-2 victory in the first-round tie at Ottawa.
“It was a strange way to finish,” Edmund said. “I’ve never been part of something like that.” Shapovalov, a 17-year-old Israeli-born Canadian, apologised to Gabas in the referee’s office as the umpire was being treated for bruising and swelling of his left eye before being taken to a nearby hospital. “No one is nicer or carries themselves better for a 17 y/o than Shapovalov,” Canadian teammate Vasek Pospisil tweeted. “Everyone can see that today was an accident.”
Pospisil had blasted 25 aces in a 7-6 (7/3), 6-4, 3-6, 7-6 (7/5) victory over Dan Evans to level at 2-2 for Canada, which was without injured world number four Milos Raonic. Britain won Saturday’s doubles match. Edmund lost to Pospisil in Friday’s singles and Shapovalov fell to Evans. – AFP.
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Bongani Ndlovu