Canada’s quest for a second Davis Cup is picking up speed as it notched a clinical revenge win over Finland in group-stage play.
Felix Auger-Aliassime and Denis Shapovalov took down Otto Virtanen and Eero Vasa respectively in singles matches to clinch the win in their Group D tie on Thursday in Manchester, England’s AO Arena.
Shapovalov started things off in the first match of the day, taking down Vasa 7-6 (2), 6-2 and Auger-Aliassime followed it up with a routine 6-2, 6-3 win, securing the victory for Canada before the sides suited up for the day’s doubles match.
Shapovalov was dominant on the serve, winning 41 of 51 (80 per cent) of his service points and capitalizing on Vasa’s 40 unforced errors.
Auger-Aliassime, meanwhile, also did his damage on the serve, winning every single one of his service games while scoring seven aces to Virtanen’s three. He managed to wrap up the match in a tidy one hour, 11 minutes.
In its quest to repeat as Davis Cup champions in 2023, Canada was knocked out in the quarterfinals by Finland.
“Everybody’s in good spirits, so it’s very good,” Auger-Aliassime said. “Any motivation is good, but I think it’s a different year, a different time, and (last year’s loss) was behind us. This year we have a full team and everybody’s playing better than last year. Everybody’s improved.”
Auger-Alissaime and Shapovalov will take the court once again for the doubles match, facing off against Virtana and Harri Heliovaara.
With the win, Canada is poised to advance to the knockout stage after beating Argentina 2-1 in the first tie of Group D play on Tuesday. It will still have to face off against host nation Great Britain on Sunday, but barring a monumental collapse, the 2022 champions should be off to the next round.
Elsewhere, Germany also remained undefeated in group-stage play after sweeping Chile 3-0.
The Germans, after also beating Slovakia 3-0, lead Group C, followed by the United States, Slovakia and Chile. The next tie is U.S. vs. Slovakia on Friday.
Four groups of teams are playing in four cities this week to qualify for the eight-team Finals in Malaga, Spain, in November. The top two countries in each four-team group advance.
Also Thursday, the Netherlands and Brazil are vying for their first wins in Group A when they play at Bologna, Italy. Last year’s runner-up Australia will try to go 2-0 when it takes on the Czech Republic in Valencia, Spain.
— With files from the Associated Press