Shapo-Pospisil

Canada has advanced to the Davis Cup Finals for the first time in history.

By defeating Russia, they will now take on the winner of Saturday’s second semifinal contest between Great Britain and Spain to determine the tournament’s champion, with the Finals being played on Sunday Nov. 24 beginning at 10:30 a.m. ET. on Sportsnet ONE.

Getting there required all the drama one would expect from a historic moment.

After splitting the singles rubber matches, Canadians Denis Shapovalov and Vasek Pospisil squared off against Russians Andrey Rublev and Karen Khachanov for a spot in the Davis Cup Finals.

Shapovalov and Pospisil started strong, jumping out to a confident early 3-0 lead in the first set that would culminate in a 6-3 win, putting them in a position where they were one set win away from punching their ticket to the Finals.

But Russia fought back in the second set, taking the break to give them a 3-1 edge that would grow into a 5-4 advantage, giving Russia a chance to serve out the set, winning 6-3.

That forced a decisive final set, with the winner advancing to the Finals and the loser’s tournament dreams ending.

Shapovalov and Pospisi took a 3-2 lead but the back-and-forth affair would ultimately require a tiebreaker.

They wouldn’t be denied, emerging victorious in dramatic fashion 6-3, 3-6, 7-6 (5), sending Canada to the Davis Cup Finals for the first time ever.

History is rarely made easily, and the Canadians’ path through the Davis Cup semifinals presented its fair share of challenges.

Pospisil kicked things off for Canada, facing Rublev in the day’s first singles match.

Rublev took the first set of the rubber match 6-4, using an impressive return game to put Pospisil on the back foot.

The second set saw much of the same. After trailing 2-1 early, a double-fault gave Pospisil a break to get the set back on serve.

But Rublev stormed back in the very next game, using quick foot work and well-placed returns to get his break back and take a 4-3 lead, en route to ultimately taking the set, and the match 6-4, 6-4.

The win gave Russia a 1-0 lead in the Davis Cup semifinal, setting up a must-win matchup between Shapovalov and Khachanov to keep the Canadians alive.

After trailing 3-1 in the opening set, Shapovalov broke Khachanov twice to come back and win the opener 6-4.

But a double fault by Shapovalov in the second set gave Khachanov the chance to break and win, 6-4, forcing a decisive third set that Canada had to win to even the score with Russia and force a do-or-die doubles competition to determine who would advance.

Shapovalov managed to break the third set, and then built that momentum into a 5-4 advantage, creating an opportunity for him to serve for the win.

The Canadian came through under the pressure, taking the final set, and the match 6-4, 4-6, 6-4 — writing a memorable chapter in a Davis Cup semifinals story that would have an unforgettable end.