Next up for Canada in its quest to defend its Davis Cup title is a quarterfinal showdown against Finland this fall in Malaga, Spain.
The draw for the November 21-26 competition was held on Tuesday at the International Tennis Federation offices in London. In other rounds of the Final 8, Serbia will play Great Britain, the Czech Republic will face Australia and Italy will face the Netherlands.
Canada showed its depth in last week’s group stage as juniors Alexis Galarneau and Gabriel Diallo teamed with veteran Vasek Pospisil in wins over Chile, host Italy and Sweden in Bologna, Italy.
Meanwhile, Finland defeated the United States and Croatia to secure their first appearance in this knockout stage of men’s tennis’ premier team event.
Canada defeated Australia 2-0 in 2022 to win the Davis Cup for the first time since the event’s debut in 1900.
Denis Shapovalov of Richmond Hill, Ont., and Felix Auger-Aliassime of Montreal won their singles matches in the final. Pospisil, of Vernon, BC, and Auger-Aliassime were designated to play doubles, but the match was not played because Canada had clinched it.
SEE | Canada advances to the Davis Cup Final 8 with Galarneau’s victory:
The Laval native defeated Chilean Alejandro Tabilo 6-3, 7-6(5) in the first match, putting Canada ahead in the series and securing the country a place in the next stage of the Davis Cup.
Diallo, the world No. 161 from Montreal, and Galarneau, the world No. 202 from Laval, Que., were nominated for the 2022 team but did not play in the Final 8.
Both players performed in the group stage this year, as Auger-Aliassime, number 14 in the ranking, did not make the trip and Shapovalov, number 31 in the world, was left out with a knee injury.
Galarneau secured his place in the round of 16 on Saturday with a 6-3, 7-6 (5) victory over Chilean Alejandro Tabilo. Diallo lost a 6-4, 6-4 decision to Nicolás Jarry before Galarneau and Pospisil teamed up for a 6-3, 7-6 (6) victory over Tabilo and Tomás Barrios Vera.
The winner of the Canada-Finland tie will play either Australia or the Czech Republic in the semifinals. The Czechs were the only team to go 9-0 in the group stage.
Canada beat Finland 4-1 on outdoor clay in their only previous Davis Cup meeting in 1966 in Helsinki, Finland.
The only Finn in the top 100 of this week’s ATP Tour individual rankings is Emil Ruusuvuori at No. 57.
Otto Virtanen follows at number 126. Harri Heliovaara is ranked number 30 in doubles.
Canada occupies first position in the Davis Cup rankings ahead of Spain, Australia, Croatia and Great Britain. Finland has jumped seven places to 14th.
The last country to win two consecutive Davis Cup crowns was the Czech Republic in 2012 and 2013.