Canada had a chance to qualify for the Davis Cup quarterfinals without playing a game on Friday, but Chile’s loss to Italy forced captain Frank Dancevic’s group to wait.
The Maple Leaf could only hope for one win for Chile out of the three games. However, Italy defeated the South American country 3-0, putting a smile on the faces of their fans in Bologna after their defeat against Canada.
• Also read: Canada defeats Sweden in Davis Cup
• Also read: Alexis Galarneau and Gabriel Diallo cause a surprise
Matteo Arnaldi started the day with a three-round win over Cristian Garin and Lorenzo Sonego followed suit against the stubborn Nicolas Jarry. Two tiebreakers were needed in the doubles match, but Sonego and Lorenzo Musetti won by a landslide over Tomas Barrios Vera and Alejandro Tabilo.
As a result, Canada will prepare to face Chile on Saturday as the undisputed leaders of Group A. Thanks to the great performances of Quebecers Alexis Galarneau and Gabriel Diallo as well as veteran Vasek Pospisil, the team won against Italy and Sweden in quick succession.
“It was an important game for Canada. “We are getting closer to our goal of reaching the quarterfinals, but there is still a lot to do,” said the latter after his victory over Leo Borg of Sweden on Thursday.
A few small efforts
By winning a couple of rounds against Chile, Canada will secure its place in the elimination phase in Malaga in November, even if it loses its three games. Remember that the top two countries in each group advance to the quarterfinals.
In singles, Diallo and Galarneau quickly made up for the absence of Félix Auger-Aliassime and Denis Shapovalov, but the two young men need to remain consistent. Ranked 158th and 200th in the ATP rankings, they caused quite a surprise with wins against Musetti (18th) and Sonego (38th) and will once again face serious competition.
Jarry is nothing less than one of the best players in the men’s circuit in 2023. The 27-year-old is ranked 22nd in the world, a career high. He wasn’t even ranked in the top 150 at the start of the year, but has returned to the elite thanks to a 29-14 record and two titles.
Garin should be the other singles player and he is known for causing upsets. The 103rd racket in the world was already in the top 20 in 2021 and notably reached the quarterfinals at Wimbledon last year.
Historically, Canada has the upper hand over Chile. Their last duel dates back to 2016, the Maple Leaf won 5-0 in Halifax. Pospisil and a very young Shapovalov were the top local favorites.
“We go on the pitch and we hate to lose or we love to win. “We never give up without a fight and we have shown that in the last few days,” announced Pospisil on Thursday, summing up his teammates’ thoughts so far.