Tennis Canada – Canada will face Slovakia in a Qualifier on February 1 and 2

 

Montreal, January 22, 2019 – Tennis Canada announced Tuesday that Denis Shapovalov (Richmond Hill, ON), Félix Auger-Aliassime (Montreal, QC), and Peter Polansky (Thornhill, ON) have been selected by Canadian Davis Cup captain Frank Dancevic to face Slovakia in a Davis Cup by BNP Paribas Qualifier on February 1 and 2 at NTC Arena in Bratislava. In addition to his captain duties, Dancevic will also serve as the fourth player for Canada.  
 
“We have been part of the World Group since 2012, but we want to show that we are a country that can aspire to win Davis Cup in the near future. Obviously, the first important step towards that goal is to qualify for the finals in Madrid and we know that Slovakia will be a tough opponent with us also playing on the road and on clay,” said Dancevic. “Our team is young, but the players are motivated to represent their country and are looking forward to competing. We will be focusing on our preparation over the next few days.”
 
Team Slovakia and captain Dominik Hrbaty nominated Martin Klizan (40), Filip Horansky (217), Nobert Gombos (244), Igor Zelenay (67 in doubles) and Filip Polasek (164 in doubles) to play for the home team.
 
Shapovalov will be making his sixth Davis Cup appearance. The 19-year-old just reached the third round of the Australian Open where he fell in four sets to World No. 1 Novak Djokovic. His Davis Cup record stands at 5-3. During Canada’s last tie against the Netherlands, Shapovalov came from two sets down to defeat Robin Haase in a five-set thriller. 
 
Auger-Aliassime, 18, will contest his second Davis Cup tie after making his debut in Toronto last September, although he did not play a match. Currently ranked no. 106 in the world, he appeared in his maiden Grand Slam main draw at the U.S. Open last year after winning three qualifying matches. In the first round of Rogers Cup last summer, Auger-Aliassime earned the biggest win of his young career over then world no. 18 Lucas Pouille of France.
 
For his part, Polansky will be making his 13^th Davis Cup appearance. The 30-year-old was part of the Canadian squad in Croatia last year, but he did not play a match. He last played against Japan in 2014 where he lost both of his singles matches. Polansky is currently ranked no. 118 in the world.
 
Canada is competing in the Davis Cup Qualifiers with the hope earning a place in the finals which will be held in Madrid in November 2019. Under the new Davis Cup format, the Qualifiers will pit 12 seeded nations against 12 unseeded countries, with the winners advancing to the finals. Canada is among the seeds for this February tie thanks to its victory over the Netherlands last September. 
 
This will be the second Davis Cup meeting between Canada and Slovakia. The Slovaks won the first encounter 4-1 at IGA Stadium in Montreal in September 1997. Canada currently has a Davis Cup ranking of no. 17 while Slovakia sits at no. 29.  
 
 
MATCH SCHEDULE*
 
Friday February 1, beginning at 3 p.m. local time (9 a.m. Eastern Time)
Two singles matches
Canada’s no. 1 player vs. Slovakia’s no. 2 player
Canada’s no. 2 player vs. Slovakia’s no. 1 player 
 
Saturday February 2, beginning at 11 a.m. local time (5 a.m. Eastern Time)
Two singles matches, followed by a doubles match
Canada’s no. 1 player vs. Slovakia’s no. 1 player
Canada’s no. 2 player vs. Slovakia’s no. 2 player
Doubles match
 
*The official draw on January 31 will determine the weekend’s match ups. All matches will be best-of-three sets.  
 
About Davis Cup
Davis Cup by BNP Paribas is the World Cup of Tennis. It is the largest annual international team competition in sport, with 133 nations entered in 2019. The competition is 119 years old, having been founded in 1900. The title sponsor is BNP Paribas (Official Bank of Davis Cup). International sponsors are Rolex (Official Timekeeper) and Adecco (Official HR Sponsor), while Head (Official Ball) is an international partner. beIN SPORTS is the Official Global Media Rights Partner.  In 2019, the all-new Davis Cup by BNP Paribas finals will be hosted at the iconic La Caja Magica in Madrid, Spain. Twenty-four nations will contest the Qualifiers on 1-2 February, competing in 12 locations around the world on a home-and-away basis. The 12 winning teams will join the 2018 semifinalists plus two wild card teams in an 18-nation Davis Cup season finale.
 
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 Rogers Cup presented by National Bank WTA and ATP World Tour events and one professional ITF sanctioned event. Tennis Canada also owns and financially supports 13 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, the Canadian Paralympic Committee and the International Wheelchair Tennis Association, and serves to administer, sponsor and select the teams for Davis Cup, Fed 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 Facebookand Twitter.
 
 

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Media Contacts:
Valerie Tetreault, Director, Communications and Media Relations
         514-273-1515 ext. 6259, vtetreault@tenniscanada.com            
           
Victoria Jaklin, Coordinator, Communications and Media Relations
       514-273-1515 ext. 6291, or vjaklin@tenniscanada.com