Canada’s men’s tennis team is off to the Final 8 at the Davis Cup, as they have advanced past group play with a perfect 3-0 record.
On Sunday, Félix Auger-Aliassime and Denis Shapovalov were dominant in their respective single’s matches, helping Canada beat host Great Britain and advance to the quarterfinals in Manchester.
The Round of 16 kicked off on Tuesday with action in Group D as Canada matched up with Argentina. In a surprising result, Shapovalov took down World No. 31 Francisco Cerundolo, 7-5, 6-3. After battling through a tight opening set, Shapovalov jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the second set and held on to win.
Auger-Aliassime followed that performance by soundly beating Sebastian Baez by a score of 6-3, 6-3. Auger-Aliassime, whose world ranking of 21 is Canada’s highest for a singles player, hit 19 winners in the victory.
The duo of Vasek Pospisil and Denis Shapovalov dropped their match to Maximo Gonzalez and Andres Molteni 2-6, 6-3, 6-2 in doubles to give Canada it’s first match loss of the round.
Canada’s quest of defending its 2022 Davis Cup title was extinguished by Finland in last year’s quarterfinal round. The two nations were matched up in group play on Thursday, and Canada once again used the strong singles play of Auger-Aliassime and Shapovalov to avenge its loss the year prior.
Shapovalov opened the tie by getting the better of Eero Vasa in two sets, 7-6 (2), 6-2. After a tight first set where both opponents had difficulty maintaining their rhythm, Shapovalov got the better of his Vasa by relying on his serve.
Auger-Aliassime had no issues against Otto Virtanen, winning 6-2 and 6-3 to clinch the victory for Canada.
Shapovalov and Auger-Aliassime then joined forces in doubles to beat Harri Heliovarra and Virtanen, 6-2, 7-5. Finland would finish with a record of 0-3 in Group D, and were eliminated.
With a record of 2-0, Canada needed to win just a single match out of three against the host Brits on Sunday to clinch their quarterfinal spot.
Denis Shapovalov continued his excellent form as he opened the first set blanking Daniel Evans, 6-0. Evans showed fight in the second set, but ultimately Shapovalov closed out the match with a 7-5 score in set two. Shapovalov was dominant on serve, winning 89 per cent of his first serve points and firing 19 winners in the victory.
Shapovalov’s win clinched the overall victory for Canada, but they were still hoping to keep their perfect record in tact.
In a heavyweight singles match-up, Auger-Aliassime matched up with recent U.S. Open semifinalist Jack Draper.
In a closely contested opening set, Auger-Aliassime saved five break points in the tiebreak to take the opening set 7-6 (10).
In the second set, both athletes struggled with their serve but it was Auger-Aliassime who managed to break Draper at 5-5 and serve out the match. The Canadian has now won 12 straight matches at the Davis Cup.
Canada, backed by Shapovalov and Auger-Aliassime, did not drop a set in singles in the Round of 16.
In the final doubles match, Gabriel Diallo and Alexis Galarneau earned their first Davis Cup action of the week to take on Henry Patten and Neal Skupski. The pair lost by a score of 7-5, 6-4.
The knockout round will take place in Malaga, Spain from November 19-24.
