Canada (Commonwealth) _ Tuesday, the first day of the Davis Cup Finals group stage in Manchester, England, saw Canada defeat Argentina 2-1 thanks to wins in singles matches by Denis Shapovalov and Felix Auger-Aliassime.
In Group D play, Shapovalov defeated Francisco Cerundolo 7-5, 6-3, thanks to six aces and four successful break point conversions. According to the ATP rankings, Shapovalov, ranked 100th in the world, upset Cerundolo, ranked 31st.
Then, Auger-Aliassime defeated Sebastian Baez 6-3, 6-3, to ensure Canada’s first group stage triumph. In the doubles match, Maximo Gonzalez and Andres Molteni defeated Shapovalov and Vasek Pospisil 2-6, 6-3, 6-2 to give Argentina a point back.
Germany defeated Slovakia 3-0 to clinch the only day’s sweep in Group C in Zhuhai, China. Lukas Klein lost to Maximilian Marterer 6-4, 7-5; Jozef Kovalik was upset by Yannick Hanfmann 3-6, 6-3, 7-6 (3); and Klein and Igor Zelenay were defeated 7-5, 6-3 by the German double’s combination.
In the other two matches, tight three-set doubles matches saw Australia and Belgium win.
Belgium defeated the Netherlands 2-1 in Group A in Bologna, Italy. Botic van de Zandschulp defeated Raphael Collignon 7-5, 7-6 (6) to give the Dutch their first point. Zizou Bergs defeated Tallon Griekspoor 6-2, 6-7 (2), 6-3 to tie the match and force a walk-off.
Sander Gille and Joran Vliegen defeated van de Zandschulp and Wesley Koolhof 4-6, 7-6 (5), 6-4 in the doubles match to complete the victory for Belgium.
In Valencia, Spain’s Group B, Australia defeated France 2-1. After Australia’s Thanasi Kokkinakis narrowly overcame Arthur Fils 7-6 (4), 7-6 (3), Ugo Humbert, a Frenchman, defeated Alexei Popyrin 6-3, 6-2.
Australians Max Purcell and Matthew Ebden defeated Pierre-Hugues Herbert and Edouard Roger-Vasselin 7-5, 5-7, 6-3 in the doubles match.
On Wednesday, the U.S. team will play their first Group C match against Chile in Zhuhai as the group stage resumes.
In the meantime, Australia also defeated France in an exciting match on Tuesday at Pabellon Fuente de San Luis in Valencia, Spain, to start their 2024 Davis Cup Finals campaign. Australia’s victory was greatly aided by the world No. 78 Thanasi Kokkinakis and the winning doubles team of Matthew Ebden and Max Purcell.
In the opening tie of the Group B match, Kokkinakis prevailed twice in tiebreakers against Arthur Fils, ranked No. 25 in the world. In the thrilling match that lasted over two hours, he defeated the Frenchman 7-6(4), 7-6(3) after saving seven break points.
World No. 18 Ugo Humbert intervened in the second tie to stall Australia’s triumph. In a little more than 70 minutes, he defeated world No. 24 Alexei Popyrin 6-3, 6-2, thanks to three break points and 21 winners.
Because of Humbert’s efforts, the French relied on Pierre-Hugues Herbert and Edouard Roger-Vasselin to win the doubles duel. Though they put up a strong fight in the second set, saving a match point and forcing a deciding against Ebden and Purcell, the duo was unable to cross the finish line.
The Australian duo, though, persevered in the third set and won 7-5, 5-7, 6-3 to propel their side to the top of the Group B rankings.
In 2024, The Finals—formerly called World Group—will serve as the pinnacle of Davis Cup competition. The group stage is scheduled for September 10–15, 2024, and the knockout stage is scheduled for November 19–24, 2024. The matches are played in a single day and are played in a best-of-three rubbers format. A doubles match follows the two singles. The reigning champion is Italy.
Teams from 16 different countries will compete in the finals group stage. The requirements were as follows: Australia and Italy, the two finalists for the 2023 Finals, Spain and Great Britain are the two wild card teams.Twelve qualifying round winners in February 2024
Seeds
Based on the Davis Cup Ranking as of March 18, 2024, the seeds were assigned. Italy, the 2023 Finals victor, was seeded first, followed by Australia, the 2023 runners-up, at No. 2. Canada and Germany were also seeded according to the most recent Davis Cup nations ranking.
The most recent Davis Cup nations rating placed the remaining 12 countries in Pots 2-4. Three host countries—Spain, Italy, and Great Britain—were assigned to various groups.
Structure
The sixteen teams were split up into four groups of four for the round robin. Each group’s top two teams will advance to the quarterfinals. Group B will be in Valencia, Group C in Zhuhai, while Group A will be hosted in Bologna.
Group B will be located in Valencia, Group C in Zhuhai, Group D in Manchester, while Group A will be held in Bologna.
