Davis Cup | Diallo was “ready for anything”

Typically, a tennis player suffers defeat when he commits 64 unforced errors, botches eight break points and wins only four points in 20 trips to the net.

But generally, a player triumphs when he makes 36 winning shots, wins 76% of his points in the first ball and breaks his opponent twice in the final round.

All these data were those of Gabriel Diallo during the fourth match of the Davis Cup group stage. Thanks to a victory in three sets of 7-5, 4-6 and 6-1 against Hong Seong-chan on Saturday evening, the 22-year-old Quebecer allowed Canada to advance to the final phase with a third victory in four matches against South Korea.

Young Diallo was thrown into the fray at two high-tension moments. First, he broke the ice on Friday by winning the first match of the program. Then, because of the defeat in doubles of his compatriots Vasek Pospisil and Alexis Galarneau in the afternoon, the 132^e world racket had the task of closing the books.

He accomplished his mission with all the misery in the world, but he is still satisfied to have met the expectations of his captain Frank Dancevic: “There is nothing that can prepare you for that,” he said. he indicated once victory was achieved. There were a lot of first times for me this weekend. I didn’t want to put any barriers or limits on myself mentally. I was ready for anything. »

After his first match, against Kwon Soon-woo, Diallo spoke transparently about his inconsistency on serve and at the net. Even though he had ended the duel with victory, his face and tone conveyed a form of discontent.

In his match on Saturday, he faced the opponent that Pospisil had easily beaten the day before.

Hong, 224^e in the world rankings, therefore seemed to be relatively easy prey for this Montrealer fueled by pressure.

He also started the meeting with confidence, being more incisive and more biting, especially when serving. The issue certainly had its effect. In the first set, Diallo orchestrated a sequence during which he won 11 points in a row on serve. At that point, his first-pitch success rate was 95%.

Even if he broke his rival with an uncrossed forehand to conclude the round at 7-5, the number of unforced errors had increased to 25. And the Quebecer was not at the end of his troubles.

The hard

Ultimately, Hong offered strong opposition. The 26-year-old pushed the great Quebecer to his limits. The Korean didn’t do anything extraordinary, but he did everything, precisely, without overtaking. This is often the key to annoying a powerful and explosive opponent like Diallo.

The latter, at the end of his resources, began to shoot himself in the foot, with stupid and innocuous errors, especially in the upper section of the field. His touches were inadequate and unbalanced. Result of the races, despite two chances to break Hong in the last game of the round, Diallo instead offered him four free points, and the set.

“I talked to myself. I started playing more aggressive. To play more in the rebound. I started to go to the net more. I gave him less time and it gave me more easy balls. […] Around the middle of the second set, until the end, I had a really bad phase. I took a little slack, a little, and the nerves started to get the best of me,” explained the winner.

Morale was at its lowest in the stands of the IGA stadium. Diallo’s naturalness, however, came back galloping at the right time.

The Quebecer broke his rival in his last two service games and made no mistakes, in addition to winning 88% of his first ball games in the third set.

“I served much better [que vendredi]. At one point in the second set, I lost my identity a little, but that’s part of tennis. You have to be able to manage. »

After 2 hours 33 minutes of play, Diallo completely let loose, jubilant on the field while carrying the Canadian flag on his shoulders. Thanks to him, Canada will have the chance to fight for a second Davis Cup title in three years.

A difficult double

If Diallo had to sweat for almost three hours to transport his team, it is because before him, Vasek Pospisil and Alexis Galarneau had missed the opportunity to close the doubles debate.

As Canada had won two matches on Friday, the Canadian duo only had to beat the duo of Nam Ji-sung and Song Min-kyu to finally claim victory. But he lost 6-4, 6-7 and 6-3.

From the start, the Canadian duo learned the hard way how Koreans should never be considered defeated. After all, a few months ago they overcame a 0-2 deficit against Belgium.

Quickly, Galarneau became the target of the Koreans at the net. The Laval player played his first match in 2024 and he seemed to be trailing at the start of the clash. He struggled to adjust to the balls and find his rhythm. At the net, Galarneau was often called upon.

Overall, Nam and Song excelled in serving. It will have been their weapon of choice throughout the game. The Koreans offered the Canadians only one break point. It was the third play of the third inning.

“They served well, but the player at the net finished the points well and managed to put the ball where we weren’t,” admitted Galarneau. They are two doubles specialists, so we expected that. »

They were also tenacious at the net. The Canadian clan’s attacks were slow, lifeless and without real intention. The Koreans’ winning smashes flew like the Perseids in August. The local duo regained momentum and a backhand pass from Galarneau in the tiebreaker gave his team the second set.

However, history repeated itself in the third set. Korea was spotless. Canada, visibly traumatized by the effectiveness of the opposing team at the net, began to attempt fancy shots without result. The locals will never have been able to break their rivals.

The next step

Canada will therefore be in action in September to continue its journey towards the silver bowl.

It is impossible to bet on the identity of the players who will represent Canada in the final phase, but Frank Dancevic is certain to be able to present on the field a team capable of beating any nation.

“We have a lot of depth on our team. Especially with the performances you’ve seen in the last two days. […] There are a lot of teams in the world that have just one or two players and if the player is injured it gives us a lot of chances. »

Moreover, Dancevic let slip in one of his answers that Milos Raonic “was not 100%”, which goes against what was put forward by the Canadian camp earlier this week.

This explains why the veteran was not involved in any meetings this weekend.