The Canadian national team beat Finland 3-0 in Davis Cup play in Manchester, England, on Thursday. In Group D, 2021 Wimbledon semifinalist Denis Shapovalov of Toronto, Ontario, beat Eero Vasa 7-6, 6-2, Felix Auger-Aliassime of Montreal, Quebec, beat Otto Virtanen 6-2, 6-3, and then Shapovalov and Auger-Aliassime beat Virtanen and Harri Heliovaara 6-2, 7-5.
Canada will now advance to the knockout rounds of the 2024 Davis Cup in Malaga, Spain, if Great Britain or Finland beat Argentina in the next two days or if Canada beats Great Britain on Sunday. Canada could still advance through the tie-break formula.
In Shapovalov’s win over Vasa, Shapovalov had the better serve. Shapovalov had five aces and one double fault, compared to three aces and four double faults for Vasa. Shapovalov broke Vasa three times and was broken only once. Shapovalov had 16 winners, compared to seven for Vasa. Shapovalov also had 72 total points and 29 unforced errors, compared to 46 total points and 40 unforced errors for Vasa.
Auger-Aliassime also had the better serve against Virtanen. Auger-Aliassime had seven aces and one double fault, while Virtanen had three aces and four double faults. Auger-Aliassime had the edge in total winners (12 to 10), unforced errors (27 for Auger-Aliassime compared to 33 for Virtanen) and total points won (63 for Auger-Aliassime and 44 for Virtanen).
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