(Bologna, Italy) Canada is still undefeated in the group stage of the Davis Cup Finals, and Gabriel Diallo has made sure it stays that way.
The 21-year-old Montrealer defeated Elias Ymer 6-4, 6-3 on Thursday, giving Canada a 2-0 victory over Sweden.
Diallo signed his second victory in two days in this prestigious men’s tennis team competition.
“Things are working in my favor at the moment, so it’s easy to stay positive,” Diallo first explained in a post-match interview. I was ready for anything today; I knew going into the week that the world ranking had no importance here, because representing your country can inspire you and allow you to raise your level of play.
“I didn’t give the opponent any break points, so I must be doing something right with my serve. I will try to continue on this path, and also to continue my good work in return for service. [Ymer] played very well, was very [offensive], but I managed to complete the job,” Diallo summed up his performance.
By virtue of this result, the representatives of the maple leaf now have an immaculate record of 2-0 – and 5-0 in total of the matches of the first two days – and are first in the standings of Group A. Canada will complete the phase of groups by facing Chile on Saturday.
“Honestly, since Denis [Shapovalov] is injured and Félix [Auger-Aliassime] is not here, we knew we were going to have to play to our full potential to have a chance of qualifying for the next round. We had our backs against the wall when we arrived here, and I believe that the key was to impose our style of play on our opponents, and not let us impose theirs,” Diallo said.
The top two teams from each group will advance to the elimination rounds, which will take place November 21-26 in Malaga, Spain. This is also where the champion country will be crowned.
Diallo, 158th in the world, allowed Canada to continue its momentum at the Davis Cup on Thursday by giving just enough to defeat Ymer, 175th. He converted one break point per set, and two of his four in total to overcome his opponent in 1 hour 14 minutes.
However, it was not so simple for his compatriot Vasek Pospisil earlier in the day.
Ten grams of salt. This is probably what allowed Pospisil to ignore the numerous cramps that assailed him during his duel against Leo Borg, en route to a snatch victory of 7-6 (5), 5-7 and 6 -2.
“I started to feel cramps towards the end of the second round, when the tension was a little more intense,” Pospisil said, out of breath, after the match. I haven’t played many matches lately, and I really wanted to get this win for our country… I was tired at the start of the third round, and that’s the reason I had to consume almost 10 grams salt. That’s probably what saved me. »
Pospisil, from Vernon, British Columbia, took 2 hours 26 minutes to defeat Borg on the cement of Bologna’s Unipol Arena, a poorly air-conditioned amphitheater.
“It’s very humid here, and I was just trying to hang on, to be honest,” Pospisil admitted. I tried to speed up the pace of the game, shorten each point by going up to the net and take extra risks, and luckily it worked.
“I’m just starting to breathe, which helps me think. I feel like I had a 20 minute blank in this match, I don’t know. I tried a few bold moves and they worked. Good,” he continued.
Pospisil also teamed up with Alexis Galarneau to defeat Filip Bergevi and Andre Göransson, 7-6 (9) and 7-6 (3).
