Tennis News: Alexis Galarneau admits his heroic effort in the group stage of the Davis Cup final in Bologna to get Canada back into the round of 16 was beyond his wildest dreams.
During the group stage of the 2023 Davis Cup final season held in Bologna, the Canadian tennis player won all five matches he played.
Galarneau, 24, came into Bologna 0-2 in the men’s team competition, but this week he went 5-0, with two singles wins and three doubles wins, in a bid to help Canada to retain its title.
Playing Canada’s final match in Group A, the world number 200 player successfully defeated Chilean player Alejandro Tabilo, 6-3, 7-6.
After compatriot Gabriel Diallo lost to world number 22 Nicolas Jarry of Chile 6-4, 6-4, the world number 200 returned to the court to partner Vasek Pospisil and secure a 2-1 victory for Canada after winning 6-3, 7. -6 over Tabilo and Marcelo Tomas Barrios Vera.
The victory capped a spectacular week for Canada who were without stalwarts such as Félix Auger Aliassime and Denis Shapovalov, and instead entrusted their title defense efforts to new faces such as Galarneau and Diallo who were bolstered by their veteran tennis player, Pospisil.
“It’s another opportunity to hope to win the title, but this victory also shows that last season’s victory was not a fluke,” said Galarneau, referring to Canada’s historic run to win its first Davis Cup title last season.
“We take it seriously, we are number 1 in the world, so we want to prove it again and I think that’s what we are doing now.”
Heading into the final match of the group stage, the world number 200 played a big role in Canada’s success this week in Bologna. He scored the first point after beating Italian tennis player and world number 38 Lorenzo Sonego in the opening match and, together with Pospisil, won the doubles match against Italy and Sweden.
The 21-year-old tennis player, 158th in the world, Diallo also had an extraordinary week after beating Italian and world number 18 Lorenzo Musetti and Swedish tennis player Elias Ymer.
Now, Canada has the right to go to Malaga and still has the opportunity to become the first country to defend the Davis Cup title since the Czechs in the 2012 and 2013 seasons.
While Canada has confirmed it will travel to Malaga from Group A, Chile still has to wait for the results of the final match between Sweden and Italy. Sweden must beat Italy 3-0 if Chile hope to reach Malaga.
Keywords of the article: Tennis, Davis Cup, Alexis Galarneau, Gabriel Diallo, Vasek Pospisil
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