Canada looks set to forcefully protect its Davis Cup throne. The reigning champions, who won the first Salad Bowl in their history in 2022, consolidated their status as leaders of Group A this Thursday by resolving their draw against Sweden in Bologna.

Despite a different group from the one that led it to glory a year ago, with the absence of Félix Auger-Aliassime and the presence of Denis Shapovalov reserved for the bench, the North American team demonstrated the strength of his group to close its first two series. in the group stage.

In this context, space for a great protagonist. At just 21 years old, Gabriel Diallo once again demonstrated the freshness of his youth to decide the match against Sweden, beating Elias Ymer 6-4, 6-3 after an hour and 15 minutes of play. Canadian, who had already beaten Lorenzo Musetti last Tuesday, won another victory to confirm himself as the big figure of the week.

Earlier in the day, Vasek Pospisil led the way for the Canadians by beating Leo Borg 7-6(5), 5-7, 6-2 after two hours and 28 minutes in one of the great battles of the day. The Swede, son of legendary former ATP ranking No. 1 Pepperstone, makes his Davis Cup debut this week. Sweden have lost their first two qualifying matches and now have only a slim chance of qualifying.

After beating Italy 3-0 on the first day of competition, Canada is the only nation besides the Czech Republic to have won all of its matches in this group stage of the 2023 Davis Cup Final.

Canada will close its participation in Group A by facing Chile on Saturday. Sweden will complete the group stage by facing Italy on Sunday.

Netherlands slows down US measures
The weight of the Pepperstone ATP rankings is unclear in the Davis Cup and what happened in Split this Thursday confirmed it once again. The Netherlands took a big step forward in their attempt to qualify for the Final 8 for the second year in a row, overcoming a draw against the United States and strengthening their position as Group D leaders.

Tallo Griekspoor scored one of the most exciting victories of his career, outlasting world No. 11 Frances Tiafoe 6-3, 6-7(9), 7-6(3) after two hours and 34 minutes of play. Dutch, winner by two points of the second set, handled the situation with composure to offer his nation the epic victory of the week.

At the start of the day, Botic van de Zandschulp was number 1 Dutch by beating Tommy Paul 7-6(2), 6-2 in one hour and 41 minutes of play. The Dutchman, who lost to the Finnish Virtanen in the first round of the week, recovered remarkably under the cover of Split .

The Netherlands will complete their performance in Group D this Sunday against Croatia in search of the top of the group. The United States will face Finland on Saturday in a bid to secure one of two qualifying spots.

This week, 16 countries compete in the Davis Cup group stage, from Tuesday to Sunday, in the hope of reaching the Final 8 in November in Malaga.

The countries will compete in four groups in four cities – Group A in Bologna, Group B in Manchester, Group C in Valencia and Group D in Split – with the top two countries from each group qualifying for the knockout stage in two months .