Schnur to lead the team for the first time as Galarneau makes his Davis Cup debut
Montral, Friday, February 4, 2022 On Friday, Tennis Canada announced that Brayden Schnur (Pickering, ON), Steven Diez (Toronto, ON), Peter Polansky (Toronto, ON) and Alexis Galarneau (Laval, QC) will be joining forces on Team Canada presented by Sobeys at the Davis Cup by Rakuten Qualifier against the Netherlands, which will be held on March 4 and 5 on the clay courts at Sportcampus Zuiderpark in the Hague. As for the Dutch team, it will rely on Botic van de Zandschulp (50th), Tallon Griekspoor (60th), Robin Haase (250th), Wesley Koolhof (21st in doubles) and Matwe Middelkoop (27th in doubles).
Its only been a few weeks since we played in the Davis Cup Finals last November, but were very happy to be representing Canada again, versus the Netherlands, said Frank Dancevic. The Dutch are a very tough team to beat and it wont be easy, but we believe in Brayden, Steve, Peter and Alexis, and we know theyll fight hard to give Canada the win.
Brayden Schnur, who is currently ranked No.239, will be competing in his fourth Davis Cup. He was part of the team that fought in the Finals in Madrid and recently raised the ATP Cup along with Flix Auger-Aliassime, Denis Shapovalov and Steven Diez. Schnur will lead the squad for the first time in his career.
No.268 Steven Diez will be playing in his third and second consecutive Davis Cup after representing Canada at the Finals last November. In 2021, the Torontonian focused on the ATP Challenger Tour and made it all the way to the final at the tournament in Gran Canaria, Spain.
Davis Cup veteran Peter Polansky joins Team Canada after participating in the Finals in Madrid. Since 2007, he has been part of 11 Davis Cup events, at which he has an 87 record. The experienced doubles specialist (No.162) will be a valuable asset for his teammates.
Finally, Alexis Galarneau (22 years old) is the squads newest member. In 2021, the Quebecer was ranked No.375 in the ATP rankings and had a solid run on the Challenger circuit, competing in the quarterfinals in Bogota and Cleveland. He continues to rise with a win in Ohio, where he defeated No.124 Liam Broady of the UK.
A win over the Netherlands would send Canada to the 2022 Davis Cup Finals, while a loss means a spot in World Group I.
All the details on the broadcasts will be confirmed at a later date.
MATCH SCHEDULE*
Friday, March 4, 2022, starting at 2 p.m. local time (8 a.m. ET)
Two singles matches
Saturday, March 5, 2022, starting at 1 p.m. local time (7 a.m. ET)
Two singles matches and one doubles match
* The official draw on March 3 will determine the matches. All matches are best of three.
About Davis Cup
Founded in 1900, Davis Cup by Rakuten is the mens world cup of tennis and the largest annual team competition in sport. 148 nations entered in 2022 and will compete across multiple levels of the competition from regional events to the pinnacle of the Davis Cup by Rakuten Finals. In 2022, the Finals will see 16 nations compete for a chance to be crowned world champions. Defending champions the Russian Tennis Federation have already secured their place in the Finals and will be joined by 2021 finalists Croatia and wild cards Serbia and Great Britain.
About Tennis Canada
Founded in 1890, Tennis Canada is a non-profit, national sport association with a mission to lead the growth of tennis in Canada and a vision to become a world-leading tennis nation. We value teamwork, passion, integrity, innovation and excellence. Tennis Canada owns and operates the premier National Bank Open presented by Rogers WTA and ATP Tour events, four professional ATP and ITF sanctioned events and financially supports four other professional tournaments in Canada. Tennis Canada operates junior national training centres/programs in Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver and Calgary. Tennis Canada is a proud member of the International Tennis Federation, the Canadian Olympic Committee and the Canadian Paralympic Committee, and serves to administer, sponsor and select the teams for Davis Cup, Billie Jean King Cup, the Olympic and Paralympic Games and all wheelchair, junior and senior national teams. Tennis Canada invests its surplus into tennis development. For more information on Tennis Canada please visit our Web site at: www.tenniscanada.com and follow us on Facebook and Twitter.
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