Photo: Martin Sidorjak
Schnur to lead the team for the first time as Galarneau makes his Davis Cup debut
On Friday, Tennis Canada announced that Brayden Schnur (Pickering, ON), Steven Diez (Toronto, ON), Peter Polansky (Toronto, ON) and Alexis Galarneau (Laval, QC) will be joining forces on Team Canada presented by Sobeys at the Davis Cup by Rakuten Qualifier against the Netherlands, which will be held on March 4 and 5 on the clay courts at Sportcampus Zuiderpark in the Hague. As for the Dutch team, it will rely on Botic van de Zandschulp (50th), Tallon Griekspoor (60th), Robin Haase (250th), Wesley Koolhof (21st in doubles) and Matwe Middelkoop (27th in doubles).
It’s only been a few weeks since we played in the Davis Cup Finals last November, but we’re very happy to be representing Canada again, versus the Netherlands,” said Frank Dancevic. “The Dutch are a very tough team to beat and it won’t be easy, but we believe in Brayden, Steve, Peter and Alexis, and we know they’ll fight hard to give Canada the win.”
Brayden Schnur, who is currently ranked No.239, will be competing in his fourth Davis Cup. He was part of the team that fought in the Finals in Madrid and recently raised the ATP Cup along with Félix Auger-Aliassime, Denis Shapovalov and Steven Diez. Schnur will lead the squad for the first time in his career.
No.268 Steven Diez will be playing in his third and second consecutive Davis Cup after representing Canada at the Finals last November. In 2021, the Torontonian focused on the ATP Challenger Tour and made it all the way to the final at the tournament in Gran Canaria, Spain.
Davis Cup veteran Peter Polansky joins Team Canada after participating in the Finals in Madrid. Since 2007, he has been part of 11 Davis Cup events, at which he has an 8–7 record. The experienced doubles specialist (No.162) will be a valuable asset for his teammates.
Finally, Alexis Galarneau (22 years old) is the squad’s newest member. In 2021, the Quebecer was ranked No.375 in the ATP rankings and had a solid run on the Challenger circuit, competing in the quarterfinals in Bogota and Cleveland. He continues to rise with a win in Ohio, where he defeated No.124 Liam Broady of the UK.
A win over the Netherlands would send Canada to the 2022 Davis Cup Finals, while a loss means a spot in World Group I.
All the details on the broadcasts will be confirmed at a later date.
MATCH SCHEDULE*
Friday, March 4, 2022, starting at 2 p.m. local time (8 a.m. ET)
Two singles matches
Saturday, March 5, 2022, starting at 1 p.m. local time (7 a.m. ET)
Two singles matches and one doubles match
* The official draw on March 3 will determine the matches. All matches are best of three.
