After sweeping Italy in a stunning upset on their home court Wednesday, Team Canada presented by Sobeys quickly shifted their focus to Team Sweden.
Vasek Pospisil turned around after his tennis doubles win on Wednesday and produced more of his Davis Cup magic, holding off a spirited fight from Leo Borg to give Canada the lead. Gabriel Diallo followed up by earning another impressive win over Elias Ymer to clinch Canada the win in their second tie of the Davis Cup Finals group stage. Pospisil and Alexis Galarneau once again teamed up in doubles, defeating Filip Bergevi and Andrew Goransson in straight sets to complete Canada’s second sweep of the tournament.
Pospisil powers through to take down Borg
Pospisil quickly showed the Swedes that Team Canada wasn’t going to take their foot off the gas in the second tie of the Davis Cup Finals group stage, as he broke Borg in just the second game of the match. Borg, the son of 11-time major champion Bjorn Borg, fired right back though, breaking Pospisil in the following game. The first set eventually went to a tie-break, where Pospisil broke through to win 7-5.
The second set was par for the course, as Pospisil and Borg traded services back and forth. The turning point came late as Pospisil had an opportunity to break Borg to go up 6-5, but the Swede saved two break points to avoid being put up against the ropes. In the next game, Borg seized the opportunity to break Pospisil to force a third set.
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Battling some cramping early in the decider, Pospisil still managed to break Borg to jump out to a 3-2 lead. Visibly struggling physically, Pospisil pulled through to break Borg yet again to take a commanding 5-2 lead. Wasting no time, Pospisil put the match away by serving for the victory to defeat Borg 6-2 in the decisive set, winning the match 7-6, 5-7, 6-2.
Pospisil’s thunderous serve helped him greatly, as he smashed 25 aces to Borg’s four throughout the match. Overall, Pospisil won 85 per cent of his first serve points.
DIALLO STAYS HOT AS HE DEFEATS YMER
Diallo kept the ball rolling in his second match of the tournament after dismantling Lorenzo Musetti on Wednesday. Facing Sweden’s Elias Ymer this time around, Diallo quickly broke him in the opening set to jump to an early lead. He held his own for the remainder of the set, eventually winning 6-4.
Diallo kept up the same pace in the second set, as he broke Ymer yet again in the early goings to take a 3-2 lead. He eventually broke Ymer for a third time to win the second set 6-3 and clinch Canada the victory over Sweden.
The Canadian once again played a nearly flawless game, allowing zero break point opportunities and winning 85 per cent of his first serve points. He made 14 unforced errors to Ymer’s 21 and won 58 per cent of the total points in the match.
GALARNEAU, POSPISIL COMPLETE THE SWEEP
With their eyes set on securing Canada’s sixth straight victory to remain undefeated at the Davis Cup Finals group stage, Galarneau and Pospisil teamed up yet again to take on Filip Bergevi and Andrew Goransson.
After winning together against Italy’s Arnaldi and Bolelli on Wednesday, the Canadian duo picked up where they left off, grinding their way into a tiebreak with the Swedes in the first set. The Canadians held on to win 11-9, saving seven of seven break points throughout the set.
With the second straight sweep within reach, Galarneau and Pospisil kept their eyes on the prize. Much like the first set, the two sides held their own on the way to another tiebreak. The Canadians stayed perfect, winning 7-3 to win the match 7-6(9), 7-6(3).
Galarneau and Pospisil went a perfect nine for nine in saving break points, which helped give them the slight edge in a tightly contested battle.
The Canadians will get a day of rest on Friday, and close out the group stage against Chile on Saturday at 9:00 a.m. ET.