Gigantism would describe the Davis Cup trophy. Most hulking, humongous trophy in all of sportsdom.Really, more monument than cup at 110 centimetres tall and 107 centimetres wide, in wedding cake tiers with the silver punch bowl atop. It is at least three times bigger than the Stanley Cup, and has to be shipped in three containers. Inside Louis Vuitton designed travel cases, no less.Perhaps destined to get visa-stamped for Canada.“A grandiose trophy,” says Michael Downey, the president and CEO of Tennis Canada. “If you win it, a fringe benefit is that you get to keep that trophy for a year.”A touring spectacle, should Canada come up championship-gilded in Sunday’s Davis Cup final against Spain. Versus Rafael Nadal et al. In Madrid. How’s that for a honkin’ huge challenge?Gigantism would likewise describe this country’s suddenly out-of-all-proportion phat-ness as an emerging tennis colossi, from a Grand Slam title for the skyrocketing Bianca Andreescu to slam-bang Davis Cup chops.Bros in arms Denis Shapovalov and Vasek Pospisil made history at the Caja Magica on Saturday, lifting Canada into the Davis Cup final for the first time in, combining to beat Russia 2-1 in a nerve-shredding affair that went the distance: a three-set doubles match with a tiebreak in which the Canadians dropped the first three points before pulling out the match 6-3, 3-6, 7-6 (5) on Pospisil’s serve, returned wide.It was an utterly gassed Pospisil, who lost earlier in the day to Andrey Rublev, 6-4, 6-4, before Shapovalov pulled the team level with a gutsy 6-4, 4-6, 6-4 performance over Karen Khachanov. At the end, the Canadians collapsed into each other’s arms before being joined by the rest of the team for an ecstatic group hug and bouncy-bounce dance.Pospisil and Shapovalov have played every match in the radically overhauled Davis Cup. With Milos Raonic on the broken body shelf and Felix Auger-Aliassime kept in cautious reserve & ...
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