(Madrid) Canada got off to a bad start in the group stage of the Davis Cup Finals in men’s tennis by losing all three of their clash against Sweden on Thursday in Madrid.
In the first meeting of the day, Elias Ymer got up after conceding four of the first five games, and dominated Steven Diez 6-4, 6-2 in a group B duel between two ranked players. beyond 170e rank at ATP.
Ymer, 171e world player, kept the pace at the start of the second set by breaking Diez’s serve (264e) from the initial game before consolidating this break in the next game.
Ymer, who faced no break point from the sixth game of the first set, posted another breakage in the fifth game of the second set.
“I had a good start. I lost my serve on the first game, but I broke it immediately, Diez said. Then, at 4-1, he broke me again. I think he started to be more patient and I didn’t expect that. I expected him to play more aggressively, but he was just putting the ball in. I saw the opportunity to do a little more and that’s where I got it. started making more mistakes. ”
In another singles match, Elias’ younger brother Mikael Ymer exploited his only two breakage chances of the match and defeated veteran Vasek Pospisil 6-4, 6-4.
Ymer, 93e in the world, scored a break in the third game of the first set. In the second inning, Ymer managed the break in the seventh game.
” It’s a miracle. You don’t see that in almost every other country. You don’t see that often in sports, two brothers together, said Elias Ymer. Our parents immigrated from Ethiopia. We represent Sweden at one of the biggest tennis events in the world. You don’t see this very often. ”
Mikael Ymer believes their victories will resonate with their homes.
“It was also one of my father’s big dreams,” he said. Although I don’t think too much about it while playing, for me the team and the country are ahead. Of course, there are times when I sit down and think about this beautiful story. ”
Pospisil, ranked 133e in the world, had eight aces against four, but only created one breakage chance in the entire game.
“I don’t think I played badly, but my opponent played well,” said Pospisil. Today I faced a guy who was playing really well and maybe I didn’t perform the way I would have liked. ”
Pospisil was back on the court, this time with Brayden Schnur, for the doubles match that would close this first day of competition for the Canadian delegation.
They lost to Andre Goransson and Robert Lindstedt, however, who won 7-6 (5), 6-4.
“The guys had a tough game,” said Canadian team captain Frank Dancevic. Losing 3-0 is never pleasant, but we keep our heads up. ”
Canada participates in this tournament in the absence of its two best players, Montrealer Félix Auger-Aliassime and Ontarian Denis Shapovalov, who chose to ignore the event to take care of their bodies after a long season.
In 2019, Canada reached the final round of the Davis Cup Finals, but lost to host country Spain.
Sweden are trying to advance to the Davis Cup quarter-finals for the first time since 2011.
Canada will complete the group stage on Sunday against Kazakhstan.
In Turin, Borna Gojo and Marin Cilic helped 2018 champions Croatia defeat Australia in Group D.
Gojo, ranked 276e in the world, defeated Alexei Popyrin in two sets of 7-6 (5), 7-5 after saving five break points. Cilic got the better of Alex de Minaur in three sets of 6-1, 5-7, 6-4.
In Group C, in Innsbruck, Austria, the Czech Republic took a 1-0 lead over France when 21-year-old Thomas Machac surprised veteran Richard Gasquet 7-6, 6-2 (3). The match was played in front of empty stands due to COVID-19 restrictions.
France leveled the score when Adrian Mannarino came from behind to win 6-7 (1), 6-4, 6-2 over Jiri Vesely. Pierre-Hughes Herbert and Nicolas Mahut then came back up to beat Jiri Lehecka and Machac in three sets of 3-6, 6-4, 6-3.
COVID-19 manifests itself
18-year-old Carlos Alcaraz has tested positive for COVID-19 and has been withdrawn from Spain’s squad, which is due to face Ecuador on Friday in Group A.
The International Tennis Federation (ITF) broke the news earlier on Thursday, mentioning that Alcaraz had been placed in isolation.
According to the FIT, Alacaraz will remain in isolation under the supervision of the Spanish Tennis Federation.
The Spanish delegation includes Pablo Carreno Busta, Alberto Ramos-Vinolas, Feliciano López and Marcel Granollers. The captain is Sergi Bruguera.
With contributions from Tales Azzoni of the Associated Press