Defending champion Canada secured a spot in the Davis Cup final eight with Alexis Galarneau’s straight-sets singles win over Chile’s Alejandro Tabilo on Saturday in Bologna, Italy.
After sweeping host Italy and Sweden to open the 16-country group stage of finals, Canada needed to win one of three matches against Chile on Saturday to move onto November’s final eight in Malaga, Spain.
With a world singles ranking of 200, the 24-year-old Galarneau from Laval, Que., got the job done early in Canada’s first singles match on Unipol Arena’s hard court.
His 6-3, 7-6(5) victory over Tabilo ensured Canada will advance in what’s been dubbed the World Cup of men’s team tennis.
“It got tricky. I know Alejandro from the juniors,” Galarneau said. “He grew up in Canada so I knew what to expect. I know he’s a great fighter.
“I was able to use some of the energy from the crowd, from my teammates, to really give a good serve.”
WATCH | Galarneau makes quick work of Chile’s Alejandro Tabilo:
The Laval native defeated Chile’s Alejandro Tabilo 6-3, 7-6(5) in the opening rubber, putting Canada ahead in the series and clinching the country a spot in the next stage of the Davis Cup.
Canada defeated Australia in 2022 to win the Davis Cup for the first time.
The two countries were given byes to this year’s group stage final, in which the top two countries in each pool of four move on to Malaga.
Canadian trio went 6-0 earlier in week
Minus Montreal’s Felix Auger-Aliassime ranked No. 14 in the world in men’s singles, and with Denis Shapovalov of Richmond Hill, Ont., on the bench in Bologna after a knee injury forced him out of the U.S. Open, Canada’s fortunes fell to a seasoned veteran and a pair of relative youngsters.
Vasek Pospisil of Vernon, B.C., Montreal’s Gabriel Diallo and Galarneau went a combined 6-0 in singles and doubles matches against Italy and Sweden on Wednesday and Thursday respectively.
The team spirit is awesome. We’re clicking pretty well and, knock on wood, we keep that streak going.— Canadian player Alexis Galarneau
The 33-year-old Pospisil, who took more than two months off from tennis in the spring to heal injuries, won his singles match over Sweden’s Leo Borg and teamed with Galarneau for a pair of doubles victories over the Swedes and Italians
Diallo, 21, didn’t face a break point in his first two singles victories in Bologna, which were the first of his Davis Cup career.
Diallo fell 6-4, 6-4 to world No. 22 Nicolas Jarry in Saturday’s second singles match.
But by then, Galarneau had pushed Canada’s unbeaten run in Bologna to seven straight.
“We’re definitely doing something right,” Galarneau said. “The team spirit is awesome. We’re just clicking pretty well and, knock on wood, we keep that streak going.
“It’s another chance at hopefully winning the title, but also it just shows that last year was not a fluke, but we’re to be taken seriously. We’re number one ranked in the world and we wanted to back ourselves and that’s what we’re doing at the moment.”
WATCH | Full coverage of Galarneau/Tabilo match from Bologna, Italy:
Watch Davis Cup group stage tennis action between Canada and Chile from Bologna, Italy.
Visit Today : 3150
Visit Yesterday : 3619