Workforce Canada has a tricky activity forward of them if they’re to succeed in the Davis Cup Last 8 for the third 12 months in a row. The group stage of the Davis Cup Finals takes place subsequent week and Canada finds themselves in Group D with the hosts Nice Britain, led by US Open semifinalist Jack Draper, a deep crew from Argentina, and the squad that eradicated them in 2023, Finland.
Earlier than Canada hits the court docket in Manchester, let’s meet the groups standing between them and a spot in Malaga.
Argentina
Date: Tuesday, Sep. 10
Head-to-Head: Argentina leads 2-1
Final Assembly: 2001 Group I Americas Semifinal (Cordoba, Argentina), Argentina received 5-0
On paper, Argentina is the strongest crew within the group. They’re the one nation to boast three gamers contained in the ATP Prime 100, all of whom are within the Prime 40. Tomas Martin Etcheverry, the Argentine No. 3 who’s ranked No. 33 on the ATP Tour, could be the No. 2 singles participant on each different crew within the group.
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The difficult half for the Argentines would be the floor in Manchester. If the tie have been performed on clay, they might be overwhelming favourites however as a substitute, it is going to be on indoor onerous courts. These three Argentines, Etcheverry, No. 21 Sebastian Baez, and No. 29 Francisco Cerundolo have reached a mixed one remaining on a tough court docket (Baez received Winston-Salem in 2023) and none have made it previous the third spherical of a hard-court main of their careers.
Apparently, the three of them have a mixed 7-7 file in Davis Cup play. Baez and Cerundolo are each 3-3 whereas Etcheverry is 1-1.
Baez, the projected Argentine No. 1, has been busy in 2023 with a 30-21 file and two titles, each on clay in February. The one time Baez has received consecutive matches off of clay this 12 months was when he reached the third spherical of the Australian Open, though his first-round opponent retired.
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The 23-year-old is chargeable for sending Argentina to the Davis Cup Finals, having received the fifth and deciding rubber in a third-set tiebreak of their qualifying tie in February.
He and Auger-Aliassime have by no means met on tour, however Cerundolo, the projected Argentine No. 2, and the Canadian No. 1 have been a sizzling rivalry in early 2023, assembly within the third spherical of every of the primary three massive occasions of the 12 months. Auger-Aliassime received the primary two on the Australian Open and Indian Wells earlier than Cerundolo tagged him again in Miami.
Cerundolo has had some good outcomes this 12 months, together with a title in Umag in July, a quarter-final in Madrid and a round-of-16 look at Roland-Garros the place he pushed Novak Djokovic to 5 units.
Regardless of being his nation’s No. 3, Etcheverry simply beat Cerundolo within the second spherical of the US Open. He’s 25-22 on the season.
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Argentina has a pair of veteran doubles gamers to spherical out their lineup, 36-year-old Andres Molteni and 41-year-old No. 33 Maximo Gonzalez. Gonzalez is the one member of the Argentinian crew who has a successful file at Davis Cup (8-7).
Whereas Argentina does lead the head-to-head with Canada and swept their most up-to-date assembly, this would be the first neutral-site tie between the 2 international locations. The host nation received all three earlier ties with Argentina’s two wins approaching clay, whereas Canada’s victory was on onerous court docket.
Finland
Date: Thursday, Sep. 12
Head-to-Head: Tied 1-1
Final Assembly: 2023 Davis Cup Last 8 Quarter-finals (Malaga, Spain), Finland received 2-1
Canada might be out for revenge after they meet Finland within the second group stage tie after the underdog Finns ended the Canucks’ bid for back-to-back titles within the quarter-finals final November.
The Finnish squad will look pretty much like the one which upset Canada in Malaga with 4 of 5 crew members returning. Otto Virtanan and Harri Heliovaara are each again and in search of extra success in opposition to the Canadians.
Virtanen is available in at No. 125 on the ATP Tour, having performed simply six main-draw matches this 12 months. Nevertheless, on the US Open, he got here by means of qualifying and received his first-round match earlier than shedding to Alex de Minaur within the second spherical.
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With the withdrawal of top-ranked Finn Emil Ruusuvuori, Virtanen is anticipated to play the No. 1 singles position on the Davis Cup. He and Auger-Aliassime have by no means met on tour.
Heliovaara is Finland’s doubles star, presently ranked No. 11 on this planet. Over the past two years, he has performed Davis Cup doubles with 4 totally different companions. He and Virtanen clinched the tie over Canada within the deciding doubles final 12 months.
Patrick Kaukovalta can also be again, changing Ruusuvuori who withdrew simply previous to the beginning of the occasion. Kaukovalta performed within the tie in opposition to Canada final 12 months, shedding to Milos Raonic, and is presently ranked outdoors the Prime 700 in each singles and doubles.
Eero Vasa, singles world No. 706 and doubles No. 309, is the lone member of Workforce Finland who was not on the crew for the final matchup. He rounds out the squad with doubles world No. 102 Patrik Niklas-Salminen, who was current however didn’t play on the 2023 quarter-final.
Nice Britain
Date: Sunday, Sep. 15
Head-to-Head: Nice Britain leads 2-0
Final Assembly: 2017 World Group First Spherical (Ottawa, ON), Nice Britain received 3-2
The host nation often is the crew to beat in Manchester as they’ve arguably probably the most in-form participant on any of the 4 groups, Jack Draper. The British No. 1 is coming off a semifinal efficiency on the US Open, his finest end result at a significant so far.
Draper additionally reached the quarter-finals in Cincinnati final month, beating Auger-Aliassime (in controversial style), in opposition to whom he leads the head-to-head 2-0. He has reached a pair of finals this 12 months and received the title in Stuttgart in July. The large-serving Brit could be very harmful on quick surfaces and might be a very difficult opponent on dwelling soil indoors.
Even when Draper is drained or withdraws late from the tie, the Brits boast veteran depth with former world No. 8 Cameron Norrie and former No. 21 Dan Evans. Nevertheless, each Brits have struggled mightily in 2024. Evans has a 4-17 file on the 12 months whereas Norrie has not performed since July.
Evans is the lone member of the British squad who participated in the newest Davis Cup encounter between the 2 nations in 2017. He performed a pair of singles matches, beating a then 17-year-old Denis Shapovalov however shedding to Vasek Pospisil.
Britain additionally boasts on paper the strongest doubles crew. They’re the one nation within the group with two Prime 20 gamers within the doubles rankings: No. 6 Joe Salisbury and No. 19 Neal Skupski.
Skupski went 3-1 in doubles in the course of the 2023 Davis Cup, together with two decisive doubles wins within the group stage which allowed Britain to succeed in the Last 8. His lone loss was in a useless rubber. All of these matches have been with Evans as his accomplice. The addition of Salisbury solely makes the British crew extra intimidating.
