Auger-Aliassime Looks to Recapture Malaga Magic: Meet the Davis Cup Team

November has already been a whirlwind of a month for Canadian tennis. After Team Canada presented by Sobeys won their first title at the Billie Jean King Cup, the men, led by Felix Auger-Aliassime, will look to win their second straight Davis Cup next week in Malaga. 

Making up the team this year are Auger-Aliassime, Vasek Pospisil, Gabriel Diallo, and Alexis Galarneau who were all part of the championship-winning team in 2022. Joining them is for the title defence is Milos Raonic.

Read more: Canada Wins Billie Jean King Cup

Frank Dancevic will serve as the team’s captain. 

With Team Canada set to play Finland in the quarter-finals on Tuesday, Nov. 21, there’s no better time to learn about each member of Team Canada. 

Felix Auger-Aliassime 

• Rank: 29 
• Davis Cup Appearance: 6^th  
• Davis Cup Record: 9-4 
• 2023 Record: 23-19 

It may have taken some time, but Auger-Aliassime starting to resemble the dominant version of himself he put on display just over a year ago. He found his form once again in Basel, Switzerland, when he emerged victorious in the Swiss Indoors event, taking down Hubert Hurkacz in the final. It marked his second consecutive title at the Swiss Indoors and his first event win of the year. 

Given his heroics at the 2022 Davis Cup, Auger-Aliassime’s return to the tournament shouldn’t intimidate him. Despite an initial loss to Soonwoo Kwon of South Korea, the Canadian quickly bounced back and won his next eight matches.  

Along the way, he defeated Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz, the No. 1-ranked player in the world, in a thrilling three-set affair to help propel Canada to the knockout stage. His heroics continued and he remained dominant in his matches against Germany, Italy, and finally Australia in the finals. 

Milos Raonic 

• Rank: 323 
• Davis Cup Appearance: 14^th  
• Davis Cup Record: 18-6 
• 2023 Record: 4-4 

It’s comeback season for Milos Raonic. 

After injuries kept him away from tennis for most of 2021 and all of 2022, Raonic returned to play in June 2023. It’s been an upward battle thus far, but the 32-year-old is poised to make an impact on Team Canada at the Davis Cup. 

The last time he participated in the competition was in 2018, when he defeated both Thiemo De Bakker and Scott Griekspoor of the Netherlands.   

Even though the injuries held him back these past few years, it can’t be understated just how vital Raonic was for getting Canada out of the regional zones and into the World Group in the early 2010s. 

After making it into the World Group in 2012, Team Canada was a force to be reckoned with in 2013. For the first time in a century, the team made it to the semifinals thanks in part to Raonic’s strong play. Though he wound up losing to Novak Djokovic and Serbia, his strength and determination pushed Canada as close to the title as it had ever been in the modern era. 

Vasek Pospisil 

• Rank: 300 
• Davis Cup Appearance: 24^th  
• Davis Cup Record: 31-24 
• 2023 Record: 1-2 

Since his victorious string of matches at the group stage in September, where he went 4-0, the new Mr. Davis Cup has had a mostly uneventful couple of months. He participated in a few events in the U.S., only making it to the quarter-finals once in that span.  

With the Davis Cup Finals just around the corner, he’ll look to regain the momentum he left with to help Canada notch its second title in as many years. 

Gabriel Diallo 

• Rank: 136 
• Davis Cup Appearance: 3^rd 
• Davis Cup Record: 2-2 
• 2023 Record: 3-5 

Gabriel Diallo won two of his three matches at the group stage in Bologna back in September, with one coming against Italian Lorenzo Musetti who was ranked 18^th in the world at the time, the first Top 20 win of Diallo’s career. Though he dropped his finale, his success sparked a fire that continued well into October and part of November.  

The 6’8” Montrealer came out on top at a challenger event in Bratislava, Slovakia in October, marking his second title win of the year. He came close to following up his recent triumph with another strong showing at the Calgary Challenger earlier in November but pulled out in the semifinals after sustaining an injury. 

Alexis Galarneau 

• Rank: 198 
• Davis Cup Appearance: 4^th  
• Davis Cup Record: 5-2 
• 2023 Record: 2-1 

The Davis Cup group stage could not have gone better for Alexis Galarneau. He won every one of his five matches against Italy, Sweden, and Chile. Regardless of whether it came in singles or doubles, the Lavalois was seemingly unstoppable. 

Since then, Galarneau has come very close to winning a couple of events. In late September, he reached the finals of the Columbus Challenger but fell to American Denis Kudla. He then reached the semifinals of the Tiburon Challenger in October.  

Given the two heart-wrenching losses, Galarneau will have a chip on his shoulder in Malaga, Spain, in an effort to bring Team Canada its second Davis Cup title in as many years. 

See the full schedule and draw on the Davis Cup website.