Tennis Canada names team for first-round Davis Cup qualifier

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Denis Shapovalov headlined Canada’s five-man roster for its first-round Davis Cup qualifier against Hungary, a lineup that did not include singles star Felix Auger-Aliassime.

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Shapovalov, the world No. 58 from Richmond Hill, Ont., was joined on the squad by Montreal’s Gabriel Diallo, Alexis Galarneau of Laval, Que., Liam Draxl of Newmarket, Ont., and Vasek Pospisil of Vernon, B.C.

The winner of the Feb. 1-2 tie at IGA Stadium will advance to the second round of qualifiers in September. The losing team will be relegated to the World Group 1 level.

“We are very excited to be coming back to Montreal with such a strong team for this year’s Davis Cup qualifiers,” Canadian captain Frank Dancevic said Monday in a statement. “While we know that Hungary has some very talented players, we feel extremely confident that this team will get the job done and get us one step closer to the Davis Cup Final 8.”

Canada has made back-to-back quarterfinal exits from the men’s team competition after winning the Davis Cup in 2022.

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Auger-Aliassime, Canada’s highest-ranked player at No. 29, gave up his roster spot ahead of the Davis Cup quarterfinals last fall, citing recovery time and humanitarian interests.

He’s not available for the Hungary tie as he plans to play a series of indoor tournaments in Europe in an attempt to capture and defend ranking points, Tennis Canada said in a statement.

Auger-Aliassime, from Montreal, helped anchor the Canadian side to its lone Davis Cup title. He won Olympic mixed doubles bronze at the 2024 Paris Olympics and also represented the country last month at the United Cup.

“We can only imagine how difficult this decision was for him and wish him the best during his 2025 campaign. We hope, of course, that we can continue to count on his help for future Davis Cup ties,” the organization said.

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Auger-Aliassime, who battled a back injury last season, has a first-round bye in this week’s Adelaide International, a warm-up event ahead of the Australian Open.

Canada is third in the Davis Cup rankings behind Italy and Australia. Hungary, ranked No. 22, qualified for the first-round tie by defeating Egypt in World Group 1 play.

Montreal also served as a first-round host last February when Canada defeated South Korea 3-1. Canada has won nine of its last 10 home ties.

Two singles matches will be played on the 2,000-seat venue’s indoor hardcourt on Feb. 1. A doubles match and two singles matches are scheduled for Feb. 2.

Shapovalov will be making his 12th career Davis Cup appearance while the 87th-ranked Diallo was named to the Canadian roster for the eighth time.

Galarneau, meanwhile, is ranked 200th in singles, 46 positions ahead of Draxl. Pospisil, who won a U.S. Open doubles title in 2014, spent most of last season on the lower-level Challenger circuit.

Hungary’s top singles player is 57th-ranked Fabian Marozsan. Marton Fucsovics holds the No. 100 position.

It will be the first Davis Cup meeting between Hungary and Canada.

The winners of the second-round qualifiers will join host Italy in the 2025 Final 8 in November. Italy won its second straight Davis Cup title last fall with a 2-0 victory over the Netherlands.

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