They say anything can happen in Davis Cup.
Case and point: Liam Draxl on Friday evening in Quebec City.
Facing a Top 50 opponent for the first time in his career, ranked 173 spots behind France’s No. 1 singles player Arthur Rinderknech, Draxl was a massive underdog. But he is a player who thrives on energy. And an NHL-sized Centre Videotron full of over 10,000 partisan Canadian fans was exactly the environment for the 24-year-old.
It was the perfect recipe for a classic Davis Cup upset. And Draxl delivered one worthy of a Michelin Star for Team Canada presented by IGA.
Draxl’s straight-set win over the French No.1 gave Canada a somewhat unexpected (again, 173 spots between them in the rankings, fair to say Rinderknech was expected to win) 1-0 lead. And after Félix Auger-Aliassime won his match in three sets, Canada is now a point away from winning the tie heading into Saturday.
“I don't think it's fully sunk in,” said Draxl in his post-match press conference. “I'm just so happy, so grateful to get a win on the board for Canada. I feel like I really thrive in the team environments, like it's just what I'm meant to do. Play for teams, play for college, for your country. It just comes very naturally to me, feeding off the energy and I think it brings some of my best tennis out. So I'm just super pumped to set the tone up one zero for Canada.”
Read also: Auger-Aliassime, Draxl Wins Give Canada Commanding Lead at Davis Cup
Canada is no stranger to these types of wins in Davis Cup. Vasek Pospisil built a legacy on incredible Davis Cup performances against higher-ranked opponents. Auger-Aliassime beat then-world No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz in Spain on Canada’s road to the 2022 title. Going further back, a teenage Daniel Nestor upset world No. 1 Stefan Edberg in singles.
Now Draxl’s victory has helped put Canada on the brink of returning to the Davis Cup Final 8.
His performance impressed everyone inside Centre Videotron, including his teammates and captain.
Read also: Félix Auger-Aliassime - “I Like to Play for Something Bigger than Myself”
“The nice thing about being with teammates is you get to see them play all week and we know their qualities. That allowed me to have confidence in Liam,” said Auger-Aliassime. “Liam trained well all week, he showed us great things every day in practice so that gave me and the whole team confidence that if he the stars aligned and the circumstances went our way, he could play a great match. Obviously on paper, Arthur is the favourite, but Liam showed great things, that he could bother players like Arthur. He finds solutions, he’s not afraid of the fight needed to win the match. So hats off to him.”
The margins in tennis are razor thin and with your country on your shoulders, that can be a lot of pressure for a player. But it is something that the 24-year-old embraces.
“I’m just super proud of how I managed myself out there and getting the crowd into it. And handling the big points appropriately. I really went for it,” explained Draxl. “It just felt surreal and then it was time to serve it out and I overrode the nerves with just doubling down and just trying to win the point with the serve right away. Just going for it. Go get it. That's what you have to do when you're trying to close out an amazing player like Arthur.”
Read also: Elena Rybakina’s Road to WTA World No. 1
“Liam had some really good matches in the past couple of years, but he today he really showed his worth and the level he can play,” said Canada captain Frank Dancevic. “From the first point the last point, he had unbelievable energy, he played great tennis. It's great for us that we won but it's also great for him to show him that he can beat these guys, he can be these players. And it’s something that can give him confidence going forward in his career to have this wind behind is back of how well he can play and the level he can play.”
This win was a long time coming for Draxl. The former Kentucky Wildcat has a phenomenal record in Davis Cup, 6-1 overall and 4-0 in singles, but wins on the regular ATP Tour have proved elusive. On multiple occasions, he won the opening set in tour-level main draws only to fall in three (including earlier this year against his potential opponent on Saturday, Quentin Halys), but he still has yet to win a match at an ATP Tour event.
Still, the tough losses have not gotten to Draxl. He keeps grinding and Team Canada reaped the benefits on Friday night.
“It takes a lot. The fans probably just look at that and be like, ‘oh, great, Draxl won two and five, straight sets.’ But it's a lot more complicated than that. I've had some good players on the ropes. I lost a couple tough, tough matches this summer at the NBO, at U.S. Open in the last round of qualies. I've had the position to win and didn't make those big points. And, all I can say is that I've just tried to learn from it and go back on the practice court. I had a pretty devastating loss in U.S. Open last round of qualities 7-6 in the third. And I just went back to work and went on a great training block with my coach Canadian [Former Davis Cup team member] Philip Bester. So it just comes with a lot of mental work and on-court work.”
Read also: National Coaches Week - Highlighting our High-Performance Coaching Team
That US Open loss he mentioned multiple times was his last match before Davis Cup. He immediately bounced back from that devastating defeat to score the biggest win of his career. The work paid off.
And if Canada can finish the job on Saturday, it will be largely thanks to a Davis Cup special delivered by Draxl.
CLICK HERE for everything you need to know about the Davis Cup Qualifiers Second Round tie in Quebec City between Canada and France.
The Davis Cup is coming to Quebec City September 18 and 19 as Team Canada hosts France in the Davis Cup Qualifiers Second Round. Tickets are on sale now. CLICK HERE TO BUY YOUR TICKETS!
Feature Photo: Mathieu Belanger
