November twenty seventh, 2022.
The pictures from that night time are burned into the brains of diehard Canadian tennis followers.
Félix Auger-Aliassime falling on his again after match level. Frank Dancevic main the remainder of the squad charging onto the court docket to sort out him. The trophy (on Auger-Aliassime’s head), the confetti, the champagne, the mass of pink and white shaped by the Canadian followers within the crowd, it was the fruits of 109 years of working in the direction of lastly claiming the Davis Cup title.
When Crew Canada walks out onto the match court docket on the AO Enviornment in Manchester on Tuesday for his or her first group stage tie towards Argentina, will probably be the primary time these six males might be kitted up and able to play collectively since that magical night time in Malaga.
“It’s an awesome feeling having your full crew. That’s big to come back right into a tie having your greatest gamers,” mentioned Canada captain Dancevic on the crew’s pre-event press convention on Monday. “It’s the identical vitality that we’ve had. We all know this precise crew, we all know we’ve gone all the best way to win. That offers us a number of confidence moving into.”
Canada reached the quarter-finals of their title defence in 2023, however wear-and-tear on the finish of a protracted season hampered the squad and so they have been bounced by Finland, one of many three groups standing in Canada’s approach this week within the group stage.
However the Canadians are feeling good as they gear up for an additional run on the cup.
“We’ve many choices for singles, doubles, doubles groups, switching, so there’s so many choices on this crew which nice. Everyone seems to be wholesome moving into so it’s good,” defined the captain.
Canada might have waited 109 years to win their first title, however they’re nicely positioned to be a powerhouse for years to come back within the competitors. Once they received in 2022, 4 of the 5 members of that crew have been beneath the age of 24.
“We’ve an excellent, younger proficient crew,” mentioned Auger-Aliassime on the press convention. “We’ve received already which is nice. That’s executed, we’ve got that for all times. However we need to get extra wins like this.”
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Auger-Aliassime quipped in regards to the 34-year-old crew veteran Vasek Pospisil, “We preserve him younger. He’s nonetheless obtained 10 years in entrance of him. Nonetheless recent.”
When requested if he had shared any recommendation with the children, Pospisil mentioned with amusing, “None, I’ve not given them any recommendation.”
He went on to bathe them with reward, saying, “They’re so mature, even from a younger age. They’re very skilled. They’ve excellent heads on their shoulders and unimaginable expertise. It’s lucky for me on the tail finish of my profession to be part of such an awesome crew and so they’re going to be a power to take care of for years to come back.”
One of many notable modifications for the reason that 2022 victory is the rise of Gabriel Diallo. The 22-year-old stepped up through the 2023 group stage in Bologna, Italy when Auger-Aliassime was absent and Denis Shapovalov was injured and has since received a pair of ATP Challenger titles and certified for 2 Grand Slam most important attracts, not too long ago making the third spherical of the US Open.
“I used to be in a position to construct momentum all through the summer time and end the hard-court swing with a very good run on the Open,” mentioned Diallo. “[I have a] good quantity of momentum, I really feel excellent about my sport and I’m excited for a Davis Cup run.”
Shapovalov, who was current on the 2023 group stage however was unable to play resulting from a knee damage mentioned of the performances that week of Diallo and Alexis Galarneau, who went 5-0 in Italy, “it was enjoyable to look at the blokes in Bologna final yr. It was in a approach robust as a result of I wasn’t in a position to play however I used to be type of completely satisfied I wasn’t taking part in as a result of each of the blokes have been taking part in unbelievable. The entire guys have been.”
Regardless of not essentially being a powerhouse on paper, Auger-Aliassime is the one Canadian with a rating in double digits, the Canadians have a behavior of stepping up when representing their nation. Diallo, Galarneau, and Pospisil have been all exterior the Prime 150 after they went 8-1 in Bologna final yr.
“Each time Frank calls me to be part of the crew it’s all the time an honour to symbolize Canada,” mentioned Galarneau, who has been part of each Crew Canada Davis Cup tie since his first nomination in March 2022. “For me, who’s on the Challenger tour, these weeks are far more stimulating, extra thrilling. It’s arduous to say no. To have the ability to symbolize Canada is unimaginable.”
In 2024, arguably Auger-Aliassime’s greatest efficiency was with the maple leaf on his chest when he introduced residence a bronze medal from the Paris Olympics. He’s presently on a five-match successful streak (seven if doubles are included) in Davis Cup play relationship again to 2022.
Canada will play their first group stage match on Tuesday (Sep. 10) towards Argentina. They’ve a shot at revenge for his or her 2023 quarter-final loss to Finland on Thursday (Sep. 12) earlier than ending towards the hosts Nice Britain on Sunday. The highest two groups within the group advance to November’s Closing 8 in Malaga, the positioning of Canada’s 2022 victory.
