Auger-Aliassime leads Canada’s Davis Cup team into Manchester in September | CBC Sports

Montreal’s Felix Auger-Aliassime will lead Canada into the Davis Cup Finals this September, Tennis Canada announced on Monday.

Auger-Aliassime, ranked 18th in the world, will be joined by Denis Shapovalov of Richmond Hill, Ont., Gabriel Diallo of Montreal, Milos Raonic of Thornhill, Ont., and Vasek Pospisil of Vernon, B.C., at the men’s team tennis championship in Manchester, England.

Auger-Aliassime, Shapovalov, Diallo, and Pospisil were all part of the team that won Canada its first-ever Davis Cup championship in 2022.

Canada, captained by Frank Dancevic of Niagara Falls, Ont., will compete in Group D at AO Arena with matches against Argentina on Sept. 10, Finland on Sept. 12 and host Britain on Sept. 15.

Canada advanced to a fifth consecutive finals appearance by defeating South Korea 3-1 in February’s Davis Cup qualifiers in Montreal.

Dancevic says Canada is taking a strong team to Manchester.

“This group of players has a great mix of youth and experience, and we look forward to testing ourselves against strong opponents,” Dancevic said in a news release. “It will be a challenge, but we are confident we can be successful and qualify for the Final 8.”

WATCH | Diallo clinches Canada a berth in Davis Cup group stage:

Also Monday, Auger-Aliassime and partner Dominic Stricker of Switzerland fell 6-4, 7-6 (4) to top seeds Jamie Murray of Britain and Czechia’s Adam Pavlasek in first-round doubles action at the Swiss Open tennis tournament in Gstaad.

Auger-Aliassime fell to 0-3 in doubles this year.

He is the third-ranked player in the singles draw at the clay-court men’s event and has a bye to the second round, where he will face the winner of Tuesday’s match between Germany’s Yannick Hanfmann and Damir Dzumhur of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Auger-Aliassime is set to play in singles and doubles on the clay courts of Roland Garros later this month at the Paris Olympics.