Top-seeded Canada will face No. 14 Finland in the Davis Cup quarterfinals in November CBC Sports
Next up for Canada is a quarterfinal match against Finland in Malaga, Spain, in the fight to defend its Davis Cup title.
The draw for the November 21-26 competition took place on Tuesday at the International Tennis Federation offices in London. In other Final 8 duels, Serbia faces Great Britain, the Czech Republic faces Australia and Italy faces the Netherlands.
Canada showed its mettle in the group stage last week when young players Alexis Galarneau and Gabriel Diallo, along with experienced Vasek Pospisil, scored victories against Chile, host Italy and Sweden in Bologna, Italy.
Finland, meanwhile, upset the United States and Croatia to secure its first appearance in this knockout round of men's tennis' top team tournament.
Canada defeated Australia 2-0 in 2022 to win the Davis Cup for the first time since the event premiered in 1900.
Denis Shapovalov of Richmond Hill, Ont., and Felix Auger-Aliassime of Montreal won their singles matches in the final. Pospisil, of Vernon, B.C., and Auger-Aliassime were named to doubles matches, but the match was not played as Canada claimed the victory.
VIEW | Canada advances to Davis Cup Final 8 with Galarneau victory:
The Lava native defeated Chile's Alejandro Tabilo 6-3, 7-6(5) in the opening match, moving Canada to the top of the series and securing the country a spot in the next phase of the Davis Cup.
Diallo, the world No. 161 from Montreal, and Galarneau, the world No. 202 from Laval, Que., were named to the 2022 team but did not play in the Final 8.
Both players performed well in the group stage this year, with 14th-ranked Auger-Aliassime not making the trip and world number 31 Shapovalov missing with a knee injury.
Galarneau secured a place in the Final 8 on Saturday with a 6-3, 7-6 (5) win over Chile's Alejandro Tabilo. Diallo dropped a 6-4, 6-4 decision to Nicolas Jarry before Galarneau and Pospisil together achieved a 6:3, 7:6 (6) victory over Tabilo and Tomas Barrios Vera.
The winner of the Canada-Finland duel will face either Australia or the Czech Republic in the semifinals. The Czechs were the only team to post an undefeated record of 9-0 in the group stage.
Canada defeated Finland 4-1 on outdoor clay in their only Davis Cup match in 1966 in Helsinki, Finland.
The only Finn in the top 100 of this week's ATP Tour singles rankings is Emil Ruusuvuori at number 57.
Next is Otto Virtanen at number 126. Harri Heliovaara is at number 30 in doubles.
Canada takes top spot in the Davis Cup rankings, ahead of Spain, Australia, Croatia and Great Britain. Finland has moved up seven places to 14th place.
The last country to win two consecutive Davis Cup titles was the Czech Republic in 2012 and 2013.
