Brazil was defeated by Canada in the first round of Davis Cup qualifying. In the decisive game, early on Sunday (Brazil time), Gustavo Heide lost to Liam Draxl.
The Brazilian duo Rafael Matos/Orlando Cruz started Saturday night (7) with victories, but Matheus Pucinelli and Heide were defeated in the singles duels.
The round began on Friday (6), with the victory of Canadian Liam Draxl, number 146 in the world, over Brazilian João Lucas Reis, 207th in the world rankings, by 2 sets to 0 (6/3, 6/3). Next, Gustavo Heide from São Paulo, 241st in the world, surprised Gabriel Diallo, 39th, by winning by 2 sets to 1 (7/6, 3/6, 7/6) and tying the match.
This Saturday, the Brazilian duo formed by Rafael Matos (34th doubles player in the world) and Orlando Luz (53rd in doubles) beat Draxl (312th in doubles) and Cleeve Harper (97th in doubles), by 2 sets to 1 (3/6, 6/4 and 7/5). Matos and Luz reached the quarterfinals of the Australian Open together at the end of January.
With 2-1 on the scoreboard for the Brazilians, Matheus Pucinelli (297th) and Diallo dueled for more than two hours on the fast court at the Doug Mitchell Thunderbird Arena, in Vancouver. The player from Campinas took the lead, surprising his opponent currently in the top 40 with a 6/3.
Diallo returned more focused and prevailed in the second set, taking the partial by 6/1. The third set, which lasted just 1 hour 16 minutes, was the toughest. The Quebecer relied on his powerful serve to hold off the Brazilian and end the match at 7/6 (4), on his second match point.
In the final match, Heide faced Draxl, who won by 2 sets to 0, with partials of 6/3 and 6/4.
Both teams played without their main names. Brazilian João Fonseca, current number 34 in the world, defends points this week in the ATP 500 tournament in Buenos Aires, which he won last year, and therefore gave up being with captain Jaime Oncins’ team. On the Canadian side, Felix Auger-Aliassime (8th in the world) and Denis Shapovalov (25th) were also not with Frank Dancevic’s team.
Germany, Great Britain, Croatia, Chile and Austria had also already secured a place in the second round of qualifying. Spain, last year’s runner-up, was already qualified, through a wild card. Canada faces the winner of France and Slovakia.
The seven teams that win the second round, to be held in September, will advance to the final, in November, where they will meet three-time champions Italy, already qualified. The teams defeated in this first round will meet the teams from World Group I in September.
