Canada beaten by the Netherlands
Team Canada presented by Sobeys lost 4-0 to the Netherlands on the second and final day of their Davis Cup by Rakuten qualifying tie. The Dutch earned a spot in the Davis Cup Finals next fall, while Canada will play a World Group I playoff in September.
In the first match of the day on the clay court at Sportcampus Zuiderpak in The Hague, Brayden Schnur (Pickering, ON) and Peter Polansky (Toronto, ON) fell 7-5, 6-2 to the duo of Wesley Koolhof (no. 18 in doubles) and Matwe Middelkoop (no. 28 in doubles). After a tight first set, the Dutch team put a lot of pressure on the Canadians, creating nine break point opportunities and converting two of them.
“I thought we played actually really well today. [It] probably was one of our best doubles matches together,” said Schnur after the game. “Unfortunately, I just think it was a little bit too late until we started connecting on our returns. But these guys played well today, they served really well. It was a great atmosphere here in the Netherlands, they had really good support and they used the crowd to their advantage.”
Although the outcome of the tie was decided, a third singles match was played between Steven Diez (Toronto, ON) and Robin Haase (no. 255 in the world) of the Netherlands. Diez had held his own on Friday against Tallon Griekspoor (no. 54 in the world), but this time he was no match for Haase, losing in straight sets 6-1, 6-2 after 48 minutes of play.
“We knew [from the beginning] it was going to be pretty tough without our top guys,” said Diez. “However, the experience here was great. I think the team we have is always really close. Hopefully, we’ll see what happens at the next tie but we’ll be back for sure.”
Team Canada's captain, Frank Dancevic, also echoed Diez's comments: “We knew it would be a difficult task coming into this weekend against the Netherlands. We had a few moments where the momentum could have turned our way but unfortunately, it wasn’t meant to be. The Dutch played very well and deserved the victory. Thank you to all our Canadian fans for all the support!! We will regroup and come back stronger for the next tie in September.”
This result means that Canada will not participate in the Davis Cup Finals for the first time since the new format was adopted in 2019, when the Canadians reached the final of the event. The Canadians still have hopes of qualifying again in 2023, but will have to play a World Group I playoff in September.