Aussie Davis Cup men inspired by Socceroos

Lleyton Hewitt's team are happy to play the role of underdogs with a bite in the Davis Cup final against Canada - and will take inspiration from watching the Socceroos do the same at the World Cup.

The Australians finally learned on Saturday evening who their opponents will be in the Malaga showdown, after Felix Auger-Aliassime powered the Canadians to a last-four triumph with two immaculate victories in the 2-1 win over Italy.

So on Sunday (Monday AEDT), Hewitt's men will be once again be up against a team who will be favourites to beat them - and that's just the way the old battler likes it.

"Canada have got firepower ... we knew we were the underdogs coming into the tie against Croatia and we like being in that position. It's a place I really enjoyed as a player and and now as a captain," said Hewitt.

On Saturday morning, before getting down to final practice for Australia's first Davis Cup final in 19 years, Hewitt and his team were able to take inspiration from gathering round a TV and watching the Socceroos beat Tunisia 1-0 in Qatar.

In a way, these two world championship outfits are cut from the same cloth, made up largely of unsung scrappers who appear to play above themselves when draped in the green and gold.

And Hewitt's men will have to do the same in Sunday's showdown against a power-packed side led by 22-year-old Auger-Aliassime, who appears to be in the form of his young life.

In their semi-final, the Italians, even without their two star singles players Matteo Berrettini and Jannik Sinner, took the early lead when Lorenzo Sonego enjoyed a marathon upset 7-6 (7-4) 6-7 (5-7) 6-4 win over leftie Denis Shapovalov.

But Auger-Aliassime, the top-ranked player in the whole finals tournament at No.6, responded by dismantling Lorenzo Musetti 6-3 6-4 - remarkably, his 19th win in his last 22 matches.

In another doubles decider for the two teams, the Italians then prompted a surprise by going with Berrettini, who'd been nursing a foot problem, to partner veteran cavalier Fabio Fognini, while the Canadians also made a late change, asking Auger-Aliassime to team up with Vasek Pospisil.

This came after Shapovalov had needed a medical time-out for a back problem during his defeat by Sonego - but the world No.18 was adamant he would be good to go in the final.

"Actually I feel pretty good," said Shapovalov, who's lost both his singles matches this week. "I'm going to do everything I can tomorrow to try to win and ease the pressure a little bit for Felix." 

If the schedule was the good news for Australia - they were able to rest and look forward to their third match in six days while their opponents were still battling at 9.15pm on the eve of the final - Auger-Aliassime's form is the bad news. 

He proved a terrific partner for the experienced Pospisil as they won the decider 7-6 (7-2) 7-5 to propel Canada to their second final in three years and earn the chance to win the title for the very first time against the 28-time winning Aussies.

"It's been a special journey, special year," said Auger-Aliassime, who won three tournaments in successive weeks last month.

"There's a special energy about the team. I think this is the most complete team that we have had in the history of Canadian tennis."