Team Canada has named a four-man squad for their upcoming Davis Cup Qualifiers, scheduled for the first week of February.
Canada was pitted against the Republic of Korea on its home territory in Montreal, Quebec. The tie has been scheduled between February 2nd and 3rd inside IGA Stadium, the main tennis court for the Canadian Open tournament in Montreal.
The draw for the 2024 Davis Cup Qualifiers was released by the International Tennis Federation (ITF) late last season, with top-seeded Canada among the beneficiaries of a home tie.
The tie against the Koreans will be a rematch from the 2022 Davis Cup Finals group stage, where Canada earned a thrilling 2-1 win over the same opponents in Valencia en route to their maiden Davis Cup title. This time, the winner will progress to the group stage of the Finals in September.
Canada's team captain, Frank Dancevic, has made some interesting selections, leaving their top-ranked player and talisman, Felix Auger-Aliassime, out of the team. Instead, Denis Shapovalov has been recalled.
Auger-Aliassime and Shapovalov were instrumental in steering their country to cloud nine in 2022. However, only one will partake in next month's qualifying tie.
With a deteriorating ranking and lack of game time, Shapovalov is expected to make a comeback in Auckland next week after an injury-ravaged 2023 season. It will be the 10th time that he will represent his country in a Davis Cup competition.
Shapovalov will be joined by Gabriel Diallo, a potent ball striker who features heavily on the Challenger tour. The World No. 139 has won two of his previous five Davis Cup matches.
Alex Galarneau has retained his spot in the team after a thoroughly impressive run at last year's tournament. At the same time, the experienced head of Vasek Pospisil could also prove critical. The 33-year-old has also been selected to spearhead Canada's bid.
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