After sweeping the honors of its three duels against Italy on Wednesday, the Canadian Davis Cup team is well placed to do it again against the Swedes in Bologna.
This group stage match is underway on TVA Sports live from Bologna, Italy.
After veteran Vasek Pospisil snatched a 7-6 (5), 5-7 and 6-2 victory on Thursday from Leo Borg, 334th player in the world and son of former number 1 Björn Borg, Quebecer Gabriel Diallo defeated Elias Ymer 6-4 and 6-3 to maintain the perfect maple leaf record. A doubles match is on the schedule: Pospisil should in principle return to action, this time alongside Alexis Galarneau. The duo will face Andre Goransson and Filip Bergevi.
Faced with the 175th racket on the international board, Diallo (158th) was uncompromising with the balls in hand, because he did not have to save his serve once. In contrast, he managed three breaks on six occasions, including the one confirming his triumph.
“Because of the quality of my game, things are on my side right now. It’s easy to stay positive, but today I expected anything, given my level and his. Except rankings mean nothing this week, because playing for the nation can inspire athletes. So none of us look at the rankings. We show up on the court to compete with as much enthusiasm as possible to try to win, said the winner in a post-match interview. We are well run, the staff are sensational and Frank [Dancevic] is an excellent captain. He knows how to get us going.”
“I am happy with my performance. There were no break points against me and I must surely be doing something good on serve,” he continued.
Hard for Pospisil
Previously, despite the youth of his 20-year-old opponent, Pospisil struggled on the playing surface, particularly in the third set when cramps bothered him on a few occasions. However, two breaks as well as errors in Borg’s serve made the British Columbian’s task easier.
Pospisil, ranked 187th in the ATP rankings, dominated 24-4 in aces and committed three double faults, compared to six for Borg.
“It’s very humid here and I tried to hold on by speeding up the game a little. I wanted to play short points, go to the net more and force the score,” he admitted in an interview on the playing surface after the match. Towards the end of the second run I started to feel bad. There was more tension and I haven’t played many matches lately. I was more nervous and, being at the Davis Cup, there is more emotion and you want to win. Fatigue set in, then there were cramps at the start of the third.”
“I honestly don’t know how I won that match. I made some great shots,” he added.
Playing in Section A in the group stage, Canada is at the top and has a meeting with Chile on Saturday. This one will come up against Italy on Friday. Barring a rather improbable turnaround, captain Frank Dancevic’s team will participate in the Davis Cup Finals scheduled for November 21 to 26.