Canada was eliminated in the quarterfinals of the Davis Cup international men’s tennis tournament with a 2-0 loss to Germany on Wednesday in Malaga, Spain.
Jan-Lennard Struff rallied to defeat Denis Shapovalov 4-6, 7-5, 7-6 (5) and clinch the victory in the second singles match of the tie. Daniel Altmaier had given Germany the first point with a 7-6 (5), 6-4 win over Gabriel Diallo.
“Definitely very disappointed for the team. I feel like I let them down,” said Shapovalov, who had 27 aces and 13 double faults in Wednesday’s loss. “I felt like I had the match in my hands, had a lot of chances. It just slipped away from me, so it’s definitely a tough one.”
Germany will next face the Netherlands on Friday for a spot in the final. The Dutch defeated Spain 2-1 on Tuesday in a tie that marked Rafael Nadal’s retirement from professional tennis.
“It was very close. Just happy to get it over the line,” Struff said. “We are in the semis now. We are very happy. Let’s look forward to Friday.”
WATCH | Shapovalov outlasted by Struff over 3 sets in Malaga:
After Montreal’s Gabriel Diallo lost to Daniel Altmaier in the opening rubber of the Davis Cup Final quarterfinals in Malaga, Spain, Jan-Lennard Struff beat Denis Shapovalov of Richmond Hill, Ont., 4-6, 7-5, 7-6(5) to eliminate Canada.
Germany had last made it to the semifinals in 2021. It lifted the last of its three Davis Cup trophies in 1993. Canada’s lone title came in 2022, when Struff also defeated Shapovalov in three sets in the quarterfinal round.
Even if Canada had won a singles match, the Germans had the elite team of Kevin Krawietz and Tim Putz waiting in the wings if a doubles contest was needed. The pair was coming off a doubles victory last week at the ATP Finals in Turin, Italy.
In the last two quarterfinals this year, the United States faces Australia Thursday at 4 a.m. ET and defending champion Italy takes on Argentina at 11 a.m.
Altmaier put the opening match away for Germany when he came back from a 40-15 deficit in the deciding game and converted his only break point of the match.
WATCH | Diallo fails to find ‘rhythm’ in straight-sets quarterfinal loss:
Germany’s Daniel Altamier defeated Montreal’s Gabriel Diallo 7-6(5), 6-4, in their opening match of the Davis Cup Finals quarterfinal tie in Malaga, Spain.
Altmaier served 10 aces against nine from Diallo. The German had only one double fault against six of his opponent.
“I haven’t played a Davis Cup match throughout the whole year, and then right away playing in such an important match which is to lead the tie, so I’m really happy [with] the way I could handle it mentally,” Altmaier said.
Diallo said he wasn’t “as loose” as he wanted.
“It was quite patchy,” Diallo said. “Some bits and pieces, moments where I was playing well, moments where I was a little bit more scrappy. But sometimes that’s how it goes. Sometimes the moment gets a little bit to you. Today in some moments it got to me, and I didn’t manage to find my rhythm and find my strides to get a win.”
Both teams were missing their highest-ranked singles players. Montreal’s Felix Auger-Aliassime, ranked 29th in the world, withdrew from the tournament saying he wanted to focus on charity work. Germany was playing without No. 2 Alexander Zverev.