Canada, the reigning Davis Cup champion, is gearing up for a crucial showdown against Chile in the Davis Cup group stage finals. Often referred to as the World Cup of men’s team tennis, Canada made an impressive start by convincingly defeating both Sweden and the host nation, Italy, in Bologna.
Canada, boasting a flawless record of 2-0, secured the top position in Group A of the 16-country group finals, outperforming Italy and Chile (both at 1-1), while Sweden struggled at 0-2. The top two teams from each of the four groups will advance to the quarterfinals, scheduled for November in Malaga, Spain.
Following their dominant performances, Canada’s male players enjoyed a well-deserved break on Friday. Meanwhile, Italy managed to overcome Chile in two singles matches and a doubles contest. A lone victory for Chile on Friday would have guaranteed Canada’s passage to Malaga. However, the Italian team, fueled by their passionate home crowd at the Unipol Arena’s hard court, displayed remarkable resilience. Despite dropping the first set in each match on Friday, Italy made remarkable comebacks to secure victories.
In a pivotal doubles match, Italy’s Lorenzo Muzetti and Lorenzo Sonego narrowly triumphed over Chile’s Tomas Barrios Vera and Alejandro Tabilo, with a scoreline of 6-7 (3), 6-3, 7-6 (2), completing the sweep. The ultimate Group A clash will feature Italy and Sweden facing off on Sunday, bringing the competition to a close.
Canada achieved Davis Cup glory last year by defeating Australia, marking their maiden championship in the tournament. Both Canada and Australia received byes into the group stage for this year’s finals.
Canada faced challenges in Bologna due to the absence of Montreal’s Felix Auger-Aliassime, currently ranked 14th in the world in men’s singles, and Denis Shapovalov from Richmond Hill, Ont., who was sidelined due to a knee injury following the U.S. Open. Consequently, Canada relied on the expertise of a seasoned veteran and a pair of promising young players.
Vasek Pospisil from Vernon, B.C., Montreal’s Gabriel Diallo, and Alexis Galarneau from Laval, Que., delivered an impressive collective performance, maintaining a flawless 6-0 record in singles and doubles matches against Italy and Sweden on Wednesday and Thursday.
The 33-year-old Pospisil served an astounding 25 aces in a three-set singles victory over Sweden’s Leo Borg, the son of tennis legend Bjorn Borg. Additionally, he teamed up with Galarneau to secure consecutive doubles triumphs.
Diallo, at just 21 years old, preserved an impeccable record by not conceding a single break point in his two singles victories, marking a remarkable debut in the Davis Cup.
Galarneau, 24, with a world singles ranking of 200, kick-started Canada’s campaign with a victory against Italy’s No. 38 ranked Sonego, followed by two doubles triumphs alongside Pospisil.
The Davis Cup, a prestigious event with a storied history dating back to 1900, witnessed participation from 153 countries in 2023.
This report by The Canadian Press was initially published on September 15, 2023.
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