TORONTO, September 8, 2022 (Tennis Canada Press Release)
Tennis Canada announced on Wednesday that Félix Auger-Aliassime (Montreal, QC) will be joining Team Canada presented by Sobeys at the Davis Cup by Rakuten Finals on September 13. He replaces Liam Draxl (Newmarket, ON) and Cleeve Harper (Calgary, AB).“We are thrilled to have Félix (Auger-Aliassime) join us in Valencia,” said Team Canada captain Frank Dancevic. “After getting drawn into a tough group with Spain, Serbia, and South Korea, this addition puts us in a great position to qualify for the final stage in November.”Auger-Aliassime, the 22-year-old Montreal native, will be representing Canada in Davis Cup action for the fourth time in his career. He made his on-court debut against Slovakia at the 2019 Davis Cup Qualifiers, defeating Norbert Gombos in the decider to lift Canada to the Finals. Since then, the Montrealer has solidified himself as one of the top players on the men’s Tour. This year, he claimed his first ATP Tour-level singles title at the ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, and reached four consecutive ATP 1000 quarter-finals.This change in the lineup means Canada’s Davis Cup team for the Finals is now made up of Auger-Aliassime, Vasek Pospisil (Vernon, BC), Alexis Galarneau (Laval, QC), and Gabriel Diallo (Montreal, QC). Pospisil, the 32-year-old Vernon native, will be at his 24th Davis Cup tie, while 23-year-old Galarneau will be making his second appearance at the event. The youngest member of the team, 20-year-old Diallo, prepares to make his Davis Cup debut. As per the Davis Cup rules, countries have the option to make three changes to their roster up until 11 a.m. local time on Monday, September 12.As part of the new format adopted in 2022, the Davis Cup Finals is split into two stages. The group stage will take place from September 13 to 18 in four cities: Bologna, Valencia, Hamburg, and Glasgow. Team Canada, as part of Group B, will play out of the Pabellón Municipal Fuente de San Luis in Valencia against Spain, Serbia, and South Korea.At the end of the group stage, the top two teams in each group (Group A, Group B, Group C, and Group D) will qualify for the final stage, to be held at the Palacio de Deportes José María Martín Carpena in Malaga, Spain, from November 21 to 27.
