Revenge is a dish best served with tea and crumpets.
There was plenty of it to go around for Team Canada on Thursday in Manchester at the Davis Cup Finals Group Stage as the Canadians avenged their title defence-ending defeat in the 2023 Davis Cup Final 8 to Finland with a sweep.
But for the men of Team Canada, it was not about tagging the Finns back for that November loss.
When asked in his post-victory interview if revenge was on his mind ahead of the tie, Félix Auger-Aliassime said, “any motivation is good” but went on to say the circumstances of the two ties made revenge not particularly relevant.
Canada defeated Finland 3-0, all straight-set wins, to remain atop group D.
“To be honest, I didn’t even think about the loss last November,” explained team captain Frank Dancevic in his post-tie press conference. “I Just worried about match-by-match, focusing on the players that are playing that day and trying to get through that match. I’m not thinking about whether we played them sixth months ago or a year ago or won or lost in the past. Today is a different day. Different conditions, different players, different everything. We’re just going about our business.”
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As for the for matches he was focused on, Dancevic “Couldn’t have asked for more today. I’m super proud of the team.”
The situation on Thursday was much different than it was when the two nations met last November. Neither of the Canadians who played on Thursday, Auger-Aliassime and Denis Shapovalov, played in that tie. The Montrealer was present but physically unable to play, while Shapovalov had already shut his season down due to a knee injury suffered at Wimbledon.
This time, the Canadians were healthy and looking to remind everyone why they were world champions less than two years ago.
“It’s a different year, a different tie,” said Auger-Aliassime, who had to watch the Finland loss from the bench. “This was behind us, and this year we have a full team and everybody is playing better than last year, everyone has improved. That’s the biggest thing.”
Shapovalov was not in Malaga for the loss to Finland. While he did not say anything about revenge, he certainly came out of the gate looking like he had a point to prove. He only needed 74 minutes to put away Eero Vasa in the opening match of the day.
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“Definitely happy to get the win,” said Shapovalov post-match. “Obviously I had a really good start and then got a little bit tight there. I think Eero also picked up his level. I was happy to win that tiebreak and I was able to keep it going in the second. After winning that first set, I just loosened up enough to be able to play a little more freely and I think I played really well in the second.”
“Denis started off amazing. First match, it’s never easy to win any match in Davis Cup. He found enough to get through, played solid enough to get through. That was great,” was the analysis of Dancevic.
Auger-Aliassime had to watch Otto Virtanen defeat Gabriel Diallo in November to turn the tide of that quarter-final tie. He was not about to let it happen again against that same Finn.
“Tennis is a tough sport. Days like this during the year don’t happen all the time so I’m going to enjoy myself today. I enjoyed myself on the court and I’m happy with my game,” analyzed the Montrealer.
When asked if he felt more motivated when representing his country, the recent Olympic bronze medalist explained “I like playing for a bigger purpose than just myself. It’s a nice feeling. When you win, it’s better because you brought something good to the team, something positive. To see everybody, my teammates, the staff, to see them all happy afterwards is really gratifying.
To cap off the day, the old friends joined forces for a doubles win, their first time playing together since May 2023.
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“It was phenomenal. Just a really clean day. Not much more I could ask for as a captain,” said Dancevic.
Canada is in a strong position to advance to the Davis Cup Final 8 after winning their first two ties in Manchester. They would win the group if they beat Great Britain on Sunday but could clinch before their final tie if Argentina loses either of their remain ties on Friday against the Brits or Saturday against the Finns.
