In the Davis Cup, anything can happen.
This has been repeated many times for decades by captains and players, from Pierre Lamarche to Louis Cayer, including Martin Laurendeau and Frank Dancevic. I might also add the Canadian captains of the Billie Jean King Cup, a similar competition for women.
And time and time again, journalists rolled their eyes when they heard the word cliche flickering in their subconscious.
Yet how many times has the cliché proven true?
Often. Very often.
As long as we’re talking about clichés, I like David and Goliath.
On September 13, it was indeed a clash of David versus Goliath at the Unipol Arena in Bologna as Canada took on the host nation.
Very few people would have predicted that No. 200 Alexis Galarneau and No. 158 Gabriel Diallo would unseat No. 38 Lorenzo Sonego and No. 18 Lorenzo Musetti who hold two and three ATP titles respectively.
And they did it in front of a wild, partisan and hostile home crowd and without losing a single set.
And that ?!
It was a victory that galvanized both rookie and veteran Vasek Pospisil for the rest of the week.
Let’s not forget Vasek. A superlative doubles player, the British Columbian once again rose to the occasion. Despite a season marked by four months off the field and only 16 matches in total, he still won a difficult singles fight against Leo Borg, son of the Swede Bjorn.
In the end, Team Canada won 8 of its 9 matches — and 16 of its 20 sets — against the Italians, the Swedes and the Chileans.
In November 2022, Galarneau and Diallo were alternates in Canada’s quest to win the country’s first-ever Davis Cup in its 122-year history.
Ten months later, without Félix Auger-Aliassime and with Denis Shapovalov on the bench, it was their turn to shine. For Frank Dancevic, who led the team last year in Spain with FAA and Shapo in the lead, the Quebecers’ performances were transcendent.
Between November 2022 and September 2023, Gabriel and Alexis made phenomenal progress and, above all, seized every opportunity, as true champions do. Look at these two photos taken ten months apart and you’ll see how far they’ve come from behind the scenes to center stage.
You can’t make this stuff up.
And the future looks bright.
Grand Slam Gaby
The euphoria of the past Davis Cup week quickly made us forget our country’s lack of success during the last major of the season.
Rare but still very real.
The meager singles showing meant the media spotlight turned to Gabriela Dabrowski’s dazzling sweep.
Over the past decade, Gaby has racked up victories in women’s and mixed doubles on tour and at international competitions, including the Billie Jean King Cup.
But on September 10 in New York, she obtained the title she coveted most: a grand slam in women’s doubles.
His greatest glory. A career goal.
Over the past decade, Gabriela Dabrowski has competed with several partners who must have been very happy to team up with her.
She has fought in 33 WTA finals, including Grand Slams. At the US Open, Erin Routliffe was the 13th player to enter a final showdown with her.
Besides the prestige and the extraordinary sense of accomplishment, his fantastic achievement has two other important aspects.
First, Gaby moved up 10 places in the rankings to re-enter the Top 10 in women’s doubles as world number 9.
Second, after sharing the $700,000 prize with her partner, Gaby added $350,000 to her estimated annual earnings of $198,000, bringing her total career income to $4,283,590.
With this sparkling new jewel in her crown, she now sets her sights on Olympic hardware.
“That’s my main goal and I hope to achieve it. I want to win a medal for Canada,” she said during a video call with Canadian journalists on September 13.
Leylah Annie Fernandez would of course be the logical choice of partner.
“We will have to wait until after Roland Garros next year to see if we have the necessary ranking to participate. If Leylah qualified, I would love to play with her. It would be a dream come true.
In the quarters at Flushing Meadows, Gaby and Leylah found themselves on the same court but on opposite sides of the net. Dabrowski and Routliffe overcame a 2-7 deficit in the third set tiebreaker to oust Fernandez and Taylor Townsend (2-6, 6-3, 7-6(8)).
Hopefully there will be an updated version of this photo after Paris 2024.
The Laver Cup comes to Vancouver
For the first time in its brief history, the Laver Cup is coming to Canada, as Vancouver prepares to welcome the caravan of tennis stars led by Roger Federer and none other than Rod Laver himself.
From September 22 to 24, Team World, including Félix Auger-Aliassime, will face Team Europe.
Félix was one of the driving forces behind his team’s first triumph in London in 2022. Even if he is not having as good a season as last year, we all hope that he will find his form during this popular competition and spectacular.
There is even a very nice article about him on the Laver Cup website.
As the competition enters its sixth edition, Europe remains the team to beat.
The 2023 edition promises to be exciting. Alongside Félix, four Americans including Frances Tiafoe received an invitation.
Source: Laver Cup
On September 22, a tribute will be paid to the founder of the tournament, Roger Federer, who bid an emotional farewell to the match at last season’s event.
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