Last Updated: November 22, 2023, 03:30 IST
MALAGA, Spain: Finland upset defending champion Canada to succeed in the semifinals of the Davis Cup for the primary time on Tuesday.
Otto Virtanen and Harri Heliovaara defeated Alexis Galarneau and Vasek Pospisil 7-5, 6-3 within the decisive doubles match to offer the 14th-ranked Finns the victory over No. 1 Canada within the first of the quarterfinals in southern Spain.
Virtanen had saved Finland alive by defeating Gabriel Diallo 6-4, 7-5 within the second singles match after Milos Raonic had given Canada the primary level with a 6-3, 7-5 win over Patrick Kaukovalta.
Finland’s finest performances earlier than this yr had been three appearances within the World Cup playoffs — the final in 2002. Canada gained its first Davis Cup title final yr, defeating Australia within the ultimate in Malaga.
The No. 1 participant for each international locations — Canada’s Felix Auger-Aliassime and Finland’s Emil Ruusuvuori — had been out injured.
Raonic, the previous No. 3 on the earth, began with 4 aces and by no means allowed Kaukovalta to get into the opening match. The 32-yr-outdated Raonic, who hadn’t performed for Canada in 5 years, misplaced only one level on serve within the opening set and three in your complete match.
Finland evened the tie when the 22-yr-outdated Virtanen broke serve as soon as in every set in opposition to Diallo.
In the doubles, Finland broke serve to go up 5-3 within the second set after which closed out the match and tie.
Australia will play the Czech Republic in one other quarterfinal on Wednesday, whereas on Thursday will probably be Italy in opposition to the Netherlands and Great Britain in opposition to Novak Djokovic’s Serbia.
The semifinals can be performed each on Friday and Saturday, with the winner being topped on Sunday.
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AP Tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/tennis
(This story has not been edited by News18 workers and is revealed from a syndicated information company feed – Associated Press)
