It’s about as perfect a week Team Canada could have asked for in the Davis Cup Group Stage from Manchester.
Led by electric performances from Félix Auger-Aliassime and Denis Shapovalov, the Canadians finished first in Group D, and announced themselves as a peak contender in at the Davis Cup Finals later this Fall.
Canada is heading back to Malaga
The 2022 Davis Cup champions returned to the Final 8 in Malaga, Spain with a composed, convincing week of tennis in Manchester.
The squad comprised of Auger-Aliassime, Shapovalov, Gabriel Diallo, Vasek Pospisil, and Alexis Galarneau opened on Tuesday against a talented Argentinian squad.
The team was fast out of the blocks, as Shapovalov overcame Francisco Cerundolo, while Auger-Aliassime ripped through Sebastian Baez 6-3, 6-3.
The momentum from the talented stars continued against Finland, as they notched straight sets wins in singles and teamed up for a doubles victory to complete a sweep on Thursday.
Shapovalov played one of his best matches of 2024, dismantling Great Britain’s Dan Evans 6-0, 7-5 to secure their spot in Malaga.
In an empty singles rubber, Auger-Aliassime earned a measure of revenge against Britain’s highest ranked player Jack Draper, winning a closely contested clash 7-6, 7-5.
Finishing Group D in first place with a 7-2 mark, the squad reaffirmed themselves as a top contender. Argentina also advanced from the group, while Germany, Italy, Spain, Australia, Netherlands, and the USA round out the Final 8 line-up.
The Davis Cup Finals are set to begin November 19th, and Canada is slated to face either the Netherlands or Germany in quarter-finals action. The full draw will be unveiled on Thursday.
Career best performance for Stakusic
While Canadian men were making noise in Europe, 19-year-old Marina Stakusic produced a career best result on the WTA circuit in Mexico.
Stakusic kicked off the Guadalajara Open with a win over Anna Karolina Schmiedlova and then had a thrilling match against top seed Jelena Ostapenko.
Ostapenko rattled off eight consecutive games before Stakusic fought back to win the match and secure her spot in the quarterfinals.
The victory over the World No. 12 marked Stakusic’s best career win by ranking, and a first ever WTA quarter-final.
She’s now up to a career high ranking of 128 and will represent Canada at the Billie Jean King Cup Finals this Fall.
Back-to-back from Cross and Arseneault, Fung nabs singles title
Canadians Ariana Arseneault and Kayla Cross captured a second consecutive doubles title at the W35 event in Punta Cana. Arseneault is up to a career high ranking of 204, while Cross jumped 21 spots to 239.
Stacey Fung enjoyed a great week in Portugal, winning the W35 event in Santarem for her first ITF title of 2024 and ninth overall. With the victory, she makes her return to the top 300 of the singles rankings.
