Canada's Félix Auger-Aliassime hits a return during a singles match against Finland's Otto Virtanen at the Davis Cup Finals, in Manchester, Britain, on Sept. 12.Ed Sykes/Reuters
Canada’s top male tennis players have defeated Finland 3-0 at the Davis Cup.
Denis Shapovalov of Richmond Hill, Ont., beat Eero Vasa 7-6 (2), 6-2 in the day’s first singles match.
Montreal’s Félix Auger-Aliassime then dispatched Otto Virtanen 6-2, 6-3 in the second singles match.
Finally, Shapovalov and Auger-Aliassime teamed up to best Virtanen and Harri Heliovaara 6-2, 7-5 in doubles play.
There was an element of revenge after Canada lost to Finland in last year’s quarter-finals.
“Everybody’s in good spirits, so it’s very good,” Auger-Aliassime said. “Any motivation is good, but I think it’s a different year, a different time, and [last year’s loss] was behind us. This year we have a full team and everybody’s playing better than last year. Everybody’s improved.”
It’s the second consecutive group-stage tie Canada has won after beating Argentina 2-1 on Tuesday. Canada, the lone seeded team in Group D, will face host Great Britain on Sunday.
Four groups of teams are playing in four cities this week to qualify for the eight-team Finals in Malaga, Spain, in November. The top two countries in each four-team group advance.
Since Canada’s undefeated after two opponents in the group stage, it is set to advance to the Davis Cup Finals.
It is Canada’s fifth consecutive appearance in the Davis Cup Finals, having won its only title in 2022. The Canadians defeated South Korea 3-1 in February’s Davis Cup qualifiers in Montreal to reach the group stage of the finals.
Australia and Germany also remained unbeaten in the group stage of the Davis Cup Finals after each winning their second straight match on Thursday, while Czech player Tomas Machac retired injured for the second time in two days after playing only six minutes. Australia beat the Czech Republic 3-0 and Germany swept aside Chile 3-0.