Rafael Nadal described Spain’s Davis Cup by Rakuten Madrid Finals triumph as the perfect end to the season for the team, who endured a tough week both on and off court while chasing their sixth Davis Cup title.

Spain beat Canada 2-0 in the final of the new Davis Cup Finals format in Madrid, Nadal beating Denis Shapovalov 6-3 7-6(7) to seal victory after Roberto Bautista Agut had put the side in front with a 7-6(3) 6-3 win against Felix Auger-Aliassime.

“When you finally win the title after all the things that we went through this week, and playing at home, it is something difficult to describe,” said the world No.1, who has now played his part in five of Spain’s six Davis Cup victories.

“It's an amazing feeling, and especially to share this great moment with all the people that supported us during the whole week is just unforgettable, for all the fans. And to share this victory too with the rest of the team, our six – and there is a much bigger team behind the scenes. We can't thank all of them enough.

“It's been an unforgettable week for all of us, without a doubt, so I’m super-happy. And, yeah, honestly, it's one of these weeks that we'll never forget.”

The victory was particularly poignant for Bautista Agut, who reduced his team-mates to tears during his post-match address to the crowd at the end of the most difficult of weeks. The world No.9 left the team on Thursday to be with his father who passed away that night, and returned to support the team on Saturday.

“It was very difficult,” Bautista Agut said. “I was speaking with Sergi about the situation, and I took the decision to go home on Thursday morning, and I was back yesterday afternoon to support the team.

“I drove here from Castellon and I didn´t think about playing. I came to support the team with all my heart. But once we qualified for the final, I started to feel like playing.

“I had the opportunity to play today because all the team and all the players and the rest of the team did an unbelievable effort since the first day. And, well, it was an amazing feeling on the court today.”

“Everyone has participated in the victory, to get the trophy, and all of us have worked very hard during the whole week.”

All five members of Sergi Bruguera’s squad – Nadal, Bautista Agut, Feliciano Lopez, Pablo Carreno Busta and Marcel Granollers – took to court to beat Croatia, Russia, Argentina, Great Britain and Canada.

But, with injuries hitting Granollers and Carreno Busta heading into the weekend, it was the world No.1 who Lopez described as a “superhero” and Bautista Agut as “our MVP.”

“We know how difficult it is to win this trophy and we know how difficult it’s going to be to keep winning in the future,” said Nadal, who noted that four members of the team were over 30, in stark contrast to 20-year-old Shapovalov and 19-year-old Auger-Aliassime.

“We knew that we needed to convert this opportunity, and we fought very hard. What Roberto did today is out of this planet, in my opinion.

“But our team is great. I don't see a lot of teams that all five players took part in the competition. Everybody played a match at least, and that makes this competition even more special because everybody in our team participated in the victory.”

Nadal ended a gruelling week at Caja Magica with eight wins in seven days – five in singles and three in doubles – at the end of a season that saw him crowned Roland Garros and US Open champion and year-end No.1 once more, before capping it with this latest Davis Cup triumph.

But he took added satisfaction in ending his 2019 season with a win against Shapovalov, a player he believes is destined for great things and landmark titles in the not-too-distant future.

“The Canadian team is amazing,” Nadal said. “They are amazing today, and they're going to be one of the teams that's going to be almost unbeatable in the next couple of years. They have a very strong team in all surfaces, so a lot of credit to all of them.

“Denis is special. He has a lot of things that you can't practice – you have it, or you don't have it, and he has it.

“I'm very happy because I played against one of the toughest opponents possible – and after a very, very long and tough week for me physically and mentally, too, because the energy that I tried to put into every single moment of the whole event has been all that I have inside me. And, honestly, it's the perfect end of the season for all of us.”