Liam Draxl will lead off for Team Canada at this week’s Davis Cup Qualifiers First Round tie in Vancouver against Brazil. Canadian No. 1 will contest the second match.
There were no surprises when the draw for the tie was made on Thursday at the Doug Mitchell Thunderbird Sports Centre. Both teams nominated their two highest-ranked singles players, Diallo and Draxl for Canada, Joao Lucas Reis da Silva and Gustavo Heide for Brazil. They also nominated the expected doubles teams, Draxl and Cleeve Harper for Canada and Orlando Luz and Rafael Matos for Brazil.
“They are a very physical team. They play with a lot of intensity,” said Diallo of the Brazilian team during Canada’s press conference after the draw. “They are grinders. They don't mind getting their hands dirty. So it's going to be a dog fight. We're going have to come off the block really aggressive and maintain that and hopefully get the job done.”
It is the same nominations for Canada as in the World Group I tie last September, with Diallo and Draxl in the day one singles with Draxl and Harper teaming up in doubles. Canada swept that tie, losing just one set in four matches. On that occasion, with the tie already won after the doubles, Harper replaced Diallo in the singles.
Draxl will meet the Brazilian No. 1, Reis da Silva, in the opening match of the tie on Friday, with Diallo facing off with Heide in the second match. The doubles will kick off play on Saturday, followed by the battle of No. 1s. If required, the fifth match will pit the No. 2 singles players against each other. Nominations for Saturday can change and, if the winner of the tie is already determined, the final singles match may not be played.
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Diallo has never met Heide or Reis da Silva before.
Draxl has beaten both of the Brazilian players in his lone meeting with each. The Canadian defeated Reis da Silva in the first round of an ATP Challenger event in Buenos Aires on the Brazilian’s preferred surface, clay, back in 2024. Just last month, Draxl beat Heide in the first round of a challenger in Noumea, New Caledonia, on hard courts. Both of those matches were three-setters.
“Brazilians are physical, good competitors. They are definitely not going to give us much out there so I’m just going to have to play every point as hard as I can and see where it takes me,” said Draxl.
In doubles, Draxl and Harper will have their hands full. Despite their success together, five ATP Challenger titles as a team and a win last September in Davis Cup, doubles will be the one matchup where Canada is the underdog on paper.
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Brazil’s doubles team of Rafael Matos and Orlando Luz are the strength of the visiting team. Both men are ranked inside the Top 60 in doubles on the ATP and have won 14 total titles as pros, including the ATP 250 event in Bastad in 2024. They also just reached the quarter-finals of the Australian Open last month.
“Every player has their own challenge. You know, we have the singles players, the doubles players, so we prepare differently for everyone. We try to tweak their games accordingly to their opponents. And for now, everybody looks good and everybody looks ready to go,” said captain Frank Dancevic.
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Canada’s most recent sweep of a best-of-five tie was their last one, when they cruised past Israel 4-0 in September’s World Group I. The last time Canada was swept in a best-of-five tie was the 2022 qualifying round, when a short-handed Canadian team lost 4-0 to the Netherlands.
Interestingly, in each of Canada’s last two qualifying-round ties, one country won both singles on day one and then lost the doubles to open day two. On both occasions, the team that swept the day one singles before losing the doubles went on to win the tie.
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The Davis Cup returns to Canada in February as Canada hosts Brazil in the Qualifiers First Round in Vancouver, Feb. 6-7 at UBC's Doug Mitchell Thunderbird Sports Centre. Tickets are on sale. Get yours now!
Feature Photo : Sarah-Jade Champagne
