Davis Cup | Diallo and Pospisil give Canada a comfortable lead

(Montreal) The Canadian players warned us at the start of the week: despite a marked advantage in their favor in the world rankings, getting rid of the Koreans in this round of the Davis Cup group stage would be difficult. It took a hard day of work for Gabriel Diallo and Vasek Pospisil to give their team a 2-0 lead.

From the first match of Friday’s doubleheader, Gabriel Diallo was beaten by Soonwoo Kwon. Once 52^e world racket, the Korean was hiding behind his current rank. 700^e in the ATP rankings, Kwon has been tenacious. Like when he beat Félix Auger-Aliassime two years ago, in the same context.

Diallo won his match in two identical sets of 6-4, not without difficulty, in almost an hour and a half, supported by the 1,829 spectators gathered inside the IGA stadium.

“In my opinion, it’s a matter of time before he regains his ranking,” admitted the winner after the match about his opponent. He is very intelligent in certain patterns, in certain phases of play. In conditions like that, he can be very dangerous. I knew it was going to be a very difficult match, but I knew I had the support of the crowd. »

Diallo was indeed blown away by the Montreal crowd, there despite a schedule that was far from obvious on this Friday afternoon in the Villeray district.

Visibly relieved, the 22-year-old celebrated by holding his arms towards the neon lights on the ceiling for almost as long as the entire duration of the first Lord of the Rings. He then celebrated with a bow and arrow gesture, or something like that, much like P. K. Subban did in his Norris Trophy-eligible years.

“I try to stay calm and collected. Sometimes emotions take over, especially when you’re playing at home. There are all my friends, my family. Sometimes it’s difficult, but I think it’s also important to show the opponent that the public is there and with you. »

Imperfect, but winning

Diallo knew how much his match could have slipped through his fingers. It could have gone wrong at different times.

He started out strong, that is his identity. But Kwon proved to be extremely reliable tactically, thanks to simple and effective sequences, especially in return of serve.

At the net, the giant Quebecer was not a shadow of himself, missing certain simple touches, due to lack of skill or concentration. Only four of his seven attempts at the net paid off.

Even when serving, Diallo was less biting than usual. “The serve wasn’t amazing, but enough to give me a chance to stay in the match when I was losing by a break. It seems that the two times I got broken, it loosened me up on serve, but also in my overall game,” he indicated a posteriori, in full self-evaluation.

The big server won 63% of his points on the first serve and 68% on the second. However, the two times he was broken by his rival, Diallo immediately counterattacked with a break.

“In tennis, the best time to break is when you have just been broken. I know he can let his guard down when that happens and that a break in serve can really make the difference. »

However, “I am convinced that I can serve better than that,” he said.

In this kind of format, however, only the cumulative matters. And after his match, Canada had a 1-0 lead.

Two in two thanks to Pospisil

Like his compatriot before him, Vasek Pospisil worked hard during his singles duel against Seongchan Hong.

The Canadian had lost his last six matches and seemed annoyed from the start of hostilities. First, the bullets didn’t suit him. They were dead, he explained after his victory. The game has been temporarily suspended. Afterwards, every service game was painful. Maybe because of the bullets.

It was broken in the third game of the match by the 224^e world racket. In the first set, only 57% of Captain Canada’s first serves crossed into the opposing square.

But used to this type of meeting, Pospisil was combative to win the first round 6-4. His opponent gave him the set on a double fault.

The Canadian made up for it during the match. However, he was obliged to pull a few rabbits out of his hat to delight the fans present for this meeting which will not stand the test of time.

The percentage of points won in the first ball has increased to 75%. Usually, when Pospisil serves well, he is adept at protecting his attacks.

He proved it by returning three volleys in the final rally to end the dilemma. “Volleying has always been a strong point of my game. So if I go to the net, play aggressive and serve well, I have a better chance of winning a match, because for me it’s natural to go to the net when I have short balls,” said the doubles expert.

The second set ended 6-3 and Canada took a 2-0 lead.

Only one victory remains for Frank Dancevic’s men to complete this group stage duel.

Alexis Galarneau and Vasek Pospisil will try to close the books on Saturday, in the only doubles match on the program.

For captain Franck Dancevic, this lead was obviously desirable, but it is not insurmountable for the Koreans. His team refuses to snuggle into the comfort of their lead. Especially for a doubles which, he swears, promises to be challenging: “The doubles will be a very difficult match, even if we have a 2-0 lead, it will be a serious match. We will have to be prepared and we want to try to win 3-0. »