Rising star Gabriel Diallo headlines Canada’s five-man squad for next month’s Davis Cup qualifier against Brazil at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver.
Diallo, ranked No. 40 in the world from Montreal, will join Liam Draxel of Newmarket, Ont., Alexis Galano of Laval, Que., Nicolas Arsenault of Richmond Hill, Ont., and Cliff Harper of Calgary, Tennis Canada said in a release Monday.
The first round is scheduled for February 6-7 at the Doug Mitchell Thunderbird Sports Center.
Diallo is expected to play in his tenth consecutive Davis Cup. He broke into the top 100 of the ATP Tour world rankings during a breakout season in 2024 and won his first ATP Tour title at last year’s Liberma Open.
The tie will determine which country advances to the second qualifying round in September. The seven teams that advance to the second round will join host and defending champion Italy in the Davis Cup quarter-finals in November.
Canada’s best-of-five match against Brazil will begin with two singles matches, followed by a doubles match and two singles matches the next day.
“We are delighted to announce such a strong squad for the upcoming Davis Cup competition in Vancouver,” Team Canada captain Frank Danswick said in a statement. “Last year, for the first time in a long time, we failed to reach the final stages of the competition, which only further motivates us to make it happen this year.
“It all starts now, against a good Brazilian team and I believe our players are ready for the challenge.”
Canada, which won the Davis Cup in 2022, defeated Israel 4-0 in the first game of the World Group in Halifax last September to advance to the first round of qualifying.
Draxl is ranked 132nd in the latest singles rankings. Galarneau is ranked 213th and Arsenault is ranked 501st. Harper is ranked 94th in doubles.
