Two Quebecers must be part of the Canadian team which will face South Korea in a Davis Cup tennis qualifying match on February 2 and 3 in Montreal, but this duo does not include Félix Auger-Aliassime.
In a press release published Friday, Tennis Canada officials announced that Denis Shapovalov, Gabriel Diallo, Alexis Galarneau and Vasek Pospisil will make up Team Canada for this duel which will be held in an indoor court at the IGA stadium.
Canada will host a Davis Cup match for the first time since 2018. This will also be the second confrontation between Canada and South Korea in this event. Canada won the previous matchup in the 2022 round robin before winning the prestigious event for the very first time in its history.
“It’s been a few years since we last played in Canada, so we are very happy to now have the chance to come home and be in action in front of the best tennis fans in the world,” said Frank Dancevic, captain of Team Canada, in the Tennis Canada press release.
“We faced South Korea in Valencia in 2022 and they were tough opponents,” Dancevic also underlined. However, our team has all the skills necessary to meet this challenge with flying colors and will be ready to prove once again why Canada is one of the best tennis nations in the world. »
Shapovalov, ranked 109e at the ATP, will represent Canada at the Davis Cup for the 10e times in his career and has a record of 14 wins and nine losses.
During the 2023 season, the 24-year-old Ontarian occupied the 18e echelon in the world rankings, but an injury ended his season prematurely. He played his last tournament in July, at Wimbledon, where he reached the quarter-finals.
Diallo, a 22-year-old from Montreal, will be participating in the tournament for the fifth time and has won two of his five Davis Cup duels.
PHOTO MASSIMO PAOLONE, CANADIAN PRESS ARCHIVES
Gabriel Diallo
Galarneau will play there for the sixth time. During the round robin of the 2023 Finals, the 24-year-old from Laval won his five matches, helping Canada qualify for the quarter-finals. His overall record is five wins and three losses.
As for Pospisil, a 33-year-old British Columbian, he will defend the colors of Canada for the 26e times in his career. He is the second most prolific player in the history of the Canadian Davis Cup team with a record of 31 wins and 25 losses.
The Tennis Canada press release does not allude to the absence of Auger-Aliassime, 27e world player and main architect of Canada’s triumph in 2022.
Last November, in Spain, Canada defended this title, but was eliminated against Finland in the quarter-finals. Auger-Aliassime was there, but was unable to play due to a lower-body injury.
During the last few days in Sydney, Australia, Auger-Aliassime was also part of Canada’s squad at the United Cup alongside, among others, her fellow Quebecer Leylah Annie Fernandez.
PHOTO DAVID GRAY, AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
Felix Auger-Aliassime
However, he only played in one match, in mixed doubles with Stacey Fung. The tandem lost in two sets against Greece. A few days earlier, he had skipped a singles match that he was supposed to play against the Chilean Nicolas Jarry.
Sitting on the Team Canada bench, Auger-Aliassime told an Australian television station that he had felt pain in his knee some time before.
This will be the first time since 2012 that Montreal will host a Davis Cup match, when Canada defeated South Africa 4-1.
The duel against South Korea, which begins five days after the conclusion of the Australian Open, will determine which country qualifies for the round robin of the Davis Cup Finals next September.