Canada Needs Another Davis Cup Comeback Against Germany After Diallo Loss – Tennis Canada

Team Canada will need to replicate their 2022 Davis Cup quarter-final comeback against Germany if they hope to reach the semifinals after Gabriel Diallo was beaten by Daniel Altmaier in the opening match of the 2024 rematch. 

In a tight battle between two big servers, Diallo was outplayed at the end of each set as Altmaier came up clutch to score a 7-6(5), 6-4 win and claim the first point for Germany. 

In 2022, Canada also lost the opening singles match before winning the second and the doubles. Denis Shapovalov will look to get the rally going in the second singles match on Wednesday against Jan-Lennard Struff, who beat him in the 2022 quarter-final. 

Consistency was a problem for Diallo as he had 40 unforced errors to 33 winners and only put 63 per cent of his first serves in play. He also only converted one of his six break point chances. Altmaier committed just 17 unforced errors.  

The early stages of the match were dictated by the players’ ability to make first serves. Diallo was under 50 per cent in his first two service games and in the second, double-faulted at 30-40 to surrender an early break. While Altmaier was making first serves, he lost every single point in his first two service games when missing his initial delivery which allowed the Canadian to break right back.  

Read also: Canada Focused On Themselves Ahead of Davis Cup Rematch with Germany

Altmaier had a chance to make it three breaks in a row with a look at break point in the fifth game but shanked a backhand. Up 4-3, Diallo had three looks at break points on the German’s serve but could not convert any of them. 

In the following game, Diallo had to battle through a marathon on his own serve that required nine deuces. He initially rallied from 15-40 down with back-to-back 221 KMH aces and ended up saving five break points in the game. 

A couple of early errors from the Canadian in the tiebreak cost him as Altmaier raced out to a 5-0 lead. Diallo upped his aggression and very nearly clawed the tiebreak back. After rallying to 4-5 and then saving a set point on the German’s serve to close to 5-6, he had a backhand put-away volley to tie the breaker only to punch it wide. 

Diallo had a chance to flip the momentum in the opening game of the second set when Altmaier missed a backhand to go down 15-40. However, the German ripped a backhand winner to save the first break point and Diallo missed a forehand on the second. That was the last chance the Canadian had to break in the match.  

Read also: Canada Starts Again with Germany – Meet the Opposition

Unlike the first set, where Diallo faced constant pressure on serve, the Canadian cruised through most of the set. He did not face a break point until the worst possible time as he served at 4-5, slicing a backhand long to set up a break and match point. Diallo drove a backhand into the bottom of the net to hand the opening point to Germany. 

Shapovalov must win the second singles match against Struff to keep Canada alive in the tie. 

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Viewers can watch Team Canada’s Billie Jean King Cup Finals and Davis Cup Final 8 ties for free on CBC Gem, cbcsports.ca, the CBC Sports app, and CBC Sports’ official YouTube channel. The ties will also be available in French, as TVA Sports and TVA Sports Direct will be showing Canada’s matchups, as well as all semifinals and finals.