Team Canada presented by IGA is heading back to Bologna.
Félix Auger-Aliassime played the hero in the city where he was raised, punching Canada’s ticket to the Davis Cup Final 8 with a victory over French No. 1 Arthur Rinderknech in the singles match on Saturday. The win put Canada up 3-1 in the best-of-five tie, enough to secure victory.
It was Auger-Aliassime's second crack at the can after he and Duncan Chan had an opportunity to clinch in the doubles, but the French team of Benjamin Bonzi and Pierre-Hugues Herbert won to keep the visitors alive. The world No. 5 was not going to be denied twice, though, as he bounced back brilliantly in his singles match, fighting off Rinderknech 4-6, 7-6(4), 6-4 to finish off the win for Canada.
The serve was critical for the Canadian, as he pounded 17 aces and won 80 per cent of his first serve points. He only faced two break points in the match. He also took advantage of Rinderknech’s second serve when he could, winning 55 per cent of points when the Frenchman missed his first delivery.
Auger-Aliassime looked unphased from the doubles loss as he opened the match with an ace as part of an authoritative hold to love. Through his first four service game, the Canadian No. 1 appeared locked in, losing just two points on his own delivery.
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Seemingly out of nowhere, it all fell apart at 4-4. Auger-Aliassime committed three straight errors to fall behind love-40 and while he saved the first break point with a backhand winner down the line, he netted a forehand on the second to give Rinderknech a chance to serve out the set. The Frenchman was playing much more solidly than he did in the opening frame on Friday against Liam Draxl and, despite Auger-Aliassime pushing him to deuce, was able to serve out the opener.
The Canadian had a chance to get back on track early in the second when a too-hot-to-handle passing shot gave him his first break-point chances of the day in the fourth game. However, Rinderknech stepped up, finding an ace and a good volley to remain on serve. Neither man had another look at a break point in the second set.
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A missed forehand on the opening point of the tiebreak could have been the final nail in Auger-Aliassime's coffin but the world No. 5 dug in. Down 4-2 with Rinderknech serving, Auger-Aliassime caught the Frenchman in No-Man's Land and ripped a forehand winner past him to get back on serve. Then up 5-4, the Canadian hit a nearly-identical forehand to give himself a pair of set points. He sent his return long on the first but with a chance to finish it off on his own delivery, Auger-Aliassime blasted a huge serve to send the match to a deciding set.
He had a chance to carry the momentum over into the decider when a return winner created a break point in the opening game, but Rinderknech once again found a big serve to get out of trouble.
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Even though he missed the chance for an early break, Auger-Aliassime was dialled in on his own delivery. In the fourth game, he held to love with four straight aces. The Canadian got into a bit of trouble at 3-4, falling behind love-30, but got out of that game unscathed.
That hold proved critical as in the following game, Rinderknech netted a forehand to give Auger-Aliassime a pair of break points at 15-40. After the Frenchman missed his first serve, the world No. 5 stepped in and crushed his return to break for the first time all day, setting himself up to serve out the match. He dropped the opening point of the ensuing game but reeled off four points in a row to punch Canada’s ticket to Bologna.
France Extends Tie with Doubles Win
Canada came into the day up 2-0 after singles wins on Friday from Liam Draxl and Auger-Aliassime, needing just one point on Saturday to clinch the tie. Their first look was in doubles with Auger-Aliassime and Duncan Chan seeking the knockout blow. However, the experienced French pair of Benjamin Bonzi and Pierre-Hugues Herbert managed to extend the tie with a straight-set win.
Auger-Aliassime and Chan were looking to complete the sweep and punch Canada’s ticket to the Davis Cup Final 8 in Bologna, Italy, in November. But Bonzi and Herbert delivered a clean performance to get the visitors on the board with a 7-6(4), 6-3 win.
For most of the first set, the servers faced little adversity. Just one of the first 11 games went to deuce and there were no break points. The only chance for either pair came right at the end as France served to send the set to a tiebreak at 5-6. At deuce, Herbert flicked a backhand overhead long to put the French down 40-AD, set point for Canada, but he redeemed himself on the following point by putting away almost the same shot to escape.
That break-point save kicked off a run of nine straight points for the French team as they raced out to a 6-0 lead in the tiebreak. The Canadians made it interesting, saving the first four set points to get back to 6-4 but finally a Chan forehand caught the net cord and died on the Canadians’ side to give the first set to France.
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The second set started out in a similar vein as the first, with the servers barely dropping points. That all changed on Chan’s serve at 3-4 when the Canadians really got in trouble for the first time all match. At love-30, Auger-Aliassime could not handle a volley and they went down love-40, the first break points they had faced. Auger-Aliassime saved the first break point with a smash but on the second Bonzi put away a volley to score the first break of the match, setting up his team to serve for it.
Herbert made no mistake closing out the match, holding to 15 with Bonzi finishing it off with a crisp backhand volley.
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Auger-Aliassime will now get another crack at clinching Canada’s spot in Bologna when he takes on France’s Arthur Rinderknech in the No. 1 singles match. Rinderknech was stunned by Canada’s Liam Draxl on Friday.
The Davis Cup Final 8 will be held in Bologna Nov. 24 to 29. Canada dominated in their last trip to Bologna back in 2023, winning all three ties and eight of nine matches during that year’s Davis Cup Finals Group Stage.
CLICK HERE for everything you need to know about the Davis Cup Qualifiers Second Round tie in Quebec City between Canada and France.
Feature Photo: Pascal Ratthe
