The elimination of the Maple Leaf representatives was confirmed after Jan-Lennard Struff won a servers’ duel against Denis Shapovalov 4-6, 7-5, 7-6 (5) on Wednesday in the second singles match. on display at the Palacio de Deportes Jose Maria Martin Carpena in Malaga, southern Spain.
The Ontarian absolutely had to win to allow Canada to stay alive in this best-of-three match, after Gabriel Diallo lost 7-6 (5), 6-4 to Daniel Altmaier in the first match of simple program.
“Denis played very well; It was very difficult throughout the match, because he served very well. Even his second ball sometimes reached 180 km/h, so it was difficult to make returns,” Struff first explained.
“I got an opportunity (at the end of the match), I broke it, then I served for the match. I was playing well, but he hung on, even at 4-3 in the ultimate tiebreaker. He was in splendid shape and, yeah, it was incredible. A very close match, and I’m just happy that I was able to give my country the victory in the end,” concluded Struff.
Shapovalov (no. 56) and Struff (no. 43) know each other well, having played their 10th career professional match. Their previous duel dates back to the Davis Cup Finals in 2022, which was won by the German and brought his record to 3-6 against the representative of the maple leaf.
Even though the match was hotly contested, the outcome was the same this time.
The match started well for Shapovalov, who won the first set 6-4 after breaking Struff in the 10th game.
The second set was just as close, with both tennis players being relentless on serve. That is, until the 34-year-old veteran used his power to steal Shapovalov’s serve in the 11th game to take a 6-5 lead. He then won the second set on serve, 7-5.
Struff again broke the Canadian in the seventh game of the final set, giving himself a 4-3 advantage. Shapovalov, however, did not give up and took advantage of a double fault from his rival to create the tie 5-5.
Then, in the final tiebreaker, things got tough. Struff earned the mini-break in the ninth point to take a 5-4 lead, then sealed the match after two hours and seven minutes after Shapovalov double-faulted on match point .
Germany had pushed Canada to the brink earlier in the morning.
“The mental aspect was decisive. That’s what motivated me. My fighting spirit helped me win the first round, then I found my rhythm (in the second round),” explained Altmaier after his victory against Diallo.
It was the second career clash between Diallo and Altmaier, after the Quebecer retired while trailing the German 5-2 at the Challenger in Sarasota, Florida, in April 2023.
Diallo was never really in control in this meeting against the 88th player in the world. His game lacked poise, and he couldn’t eliminate the trash from it.
“I lacked consistency,” admitted Diallo. Some elements worked well, while others were lacking, there were times when I played well, and others where it was more difficult. That’s how it is, sometimes. Sometimes things go wrong. Today it proved costly, and I wasn’t able to establish my rhythm to get the victory.
The 23-year-old Quebecer thus committed six double faults, compared to just one for Altmaier, not to mention that he committed a total of 40 unforced errors, compared to only 17 for his opponent.
In addition, the 86th player in the world was not opportunistic at crucial moments: he only converted one of his six break points, while his rival stole his serve twice in eight occasions – the second break also putting an end to the match.
Both countries were deprived of their respective best players — Germany played without world No. 2 Alexander Zverev, while Félix Auger-Aliassime (No. 29) was conspicuous by his absence in the Canadian camp.
The Germans will face the Netherlands in the semi-finals, who eliminated Spain 2-1 the day before. This setback for the Spaniards also put an end to the professional career of Rafael Nadal, holder of 22 career Grand Slam titles.
Canada was trying to conquer the second Davis Cup in its history, after that of 2022.
