Monday Digest: Team Canada in Manchester for Davis Cup – Tennis Canada

Team Canada has landed in Manchester as they look to reach the Davis Cup quarter-finals for the third year in a row. 

All eyes will be on the 2022 champions as they tussle with three strong teams looking to punch their respective tickets to the Davis Cup Final 8. Fortunately, the Canadians are sending their best to Great Britain. 

Here’s what you need to know. 

What to Watch: Eyeing Another Trip to Malaga 

Team Canada is looking to reach the quarter-finals of the Davis Cup as they compete in the Davis Cup Finals group stage in Manchester this week. Canada is in Group D with Great Britain, Argentina, and Finland. 

For the first time since winning the Davis Cup in November 2022, Canada is rolling out the same lineup that lifted the trophy in Malaga, Spain with Félix Auger-Aliassime, Denis Shapovalov, Gabriel Diallo, Vasek Pospisil, and Alexis Galarneau donning the red and white. 

Click here to learn more about Team Canada.

In the group stage, Canada will play each country once in three-match ties. The top two teams in the group advance to the Davis Cup Final 8 in Malaga in November. Canada plays Argentina on Tuesday (Sep. 10), Finland on Thursday (Sep. 12) and the hosts Great Britain on Sunday (Sep. 15). 

Click here to learn more about Canada’s opposition in Manchester.

While the Davis Cup is dominating the ATP calendar this week, the WTA season is proceeding as usual.  

Marina Stakusic is the lone Canadian competing in singles on the main tour at a WTA 500 event in Guadalajara. She will play Anna-Karolina Shmiedlova in the first round and would face top seed Jelena Ostapenko in round two. 

The rising Canadian star is also playing doubles with Valeria Savinykh. They play the American team of Anna Rogers and Alana Smith in the first round.  

Rebecca Marino, who lost in the final round of singles qualifying, is also playing doubles in Guadalajara alongside American Kayla Day. They face third seeds Anna Danilina and Irina Khromacheva in the first round. 

In Case You Missed It: Berube Perron Makes History at US Open 

The most notable result in the second week of the year’s final major came from an unexpected source: the junior girls wheelchair singles. 

18-year-old Frederique Berube Perron, who had her breakthrough on the ITF circuit over the summer, was the first Canadian junior ever to compete at a junior Grand Slam wheelchair event and became the first Canadian wheelchair junior player to win a match at a major. 

In her opening match of the eight-player field, Berube Perron defeated Isla Gillespie of New Zealand in straight sets to reach the semifinals, where she lost to the eventual champion Yuma Takamuro of Japan.  

She also played doubles with Sabina Cauz of the United States but they lost in their first match to the top seeds Luna Gryp of Belgium and Vitoria Miranda of Brazil in straight sets. 

Week two of the US Open was quieter for Canada as Gabriela Dabrowski was the only Canadian to reach the second week and her campaign ended on Tuesday. 

Dabrowski and Erin Routliffe’s title defence came to a surprising end in the quarter-finals of the women’s doubles when they lost to Hao-Ching Chan and Veronika Kudermetova despite having led by a set and 3-1 in the second. 

Under the Radar: Arseneault’s doubles dominance 

Ariana Arseneault’s star continues to rise as a doubles player as she picked up her third title of the summer last week. Having already won two titles and reached the quarter-finals of the National Bank Open with Mia Kupres, she won the ITF W35 in Punta Cana with fellow Canadian Kayla Cross. 

The Canadians were the top seeds and did not drop a set on their way to the title, kicking off their campaign with a double-bagel win in the first round. They beat Margaux Maquet and Maria Martinez Vaquero 6-4, 7-6(5) in the final. 

For Cross, it was her second ITF doubles title of the year. 

Bianca Jolie Fernandez, who has also had some good doubles results this summer, reached the doubles final at a W35 event in Portugal with Radka Zelnickova of Slovakia, but the pair were beaten in straight sets. 

Read also: Young Team Canada Poised for More Davis Cup Success in Manchester

Liam Draxl reached his 12^th professional singles final last week at an ITF M15 in Constanta, Romania, but lost to local Nicholas David Ionel in straight sets.  

Canada plays host to the ITF Junior and Wheelchair tours this week with events in Montreal and Toronto. 

You can follow the Canadians in action every week here.