Finland went with the hot hand in Otto Virtanen for its Davis Cup quarterfinal against defending champion Canada on Tuesday.
It paid off with the country’s first-ever berth in the semifinals of the men’s team tennis competition.
Virtanen pulled Finland even in the best-of-three tie with a 6-4, 7-5 victory over Montreal’s Gabriel Diallo. He then returned to court — as a late addition to the doubles lineup — and teamed with Harri Heliovaara for a 7-5, 6-3 win over Vasek Pospisil of Vernon, B.C., and Alexis Galarneau of Laval, Que.
Finland will play the winner of Wednesday’s quarterfinal between Czechia and Australia in the semifinal on Friday.
Montreal’s Felix Auger-Aliassime clinched Canada’s first-ever Davis Cup title last year but he remained on the bench this time around due to a lower-body issue.
Instead, Milos Raonic of Thornhil, Ont., was pressed into singles action in his first Davis Cup appearance since 2018. He opened with a 6-3, 7-5 victory over Finland’s Patrick Kaukovalta.
“The Finnish team played extremely well,” said Canada captain Frank Dancevic. “Ultimately when you have injured players on one side, fresh guys who are confident on the other side who have never been in that situation before, they’re hungry, they had a big crowd, they ended up playing well in the end and getting through.”
WATCH | Defending champion Canada makes quarterfinal exit in Spain:
Finland eliminates Canada from Davis Cup with doubles win
Featured VideoAfter winning his singles match, Otto Virtanen was again the major factor in powering Finland to its first Davis Cup semifinal.
Teams are allowed to make doubles lineup changes after the singles matches are complete. Canada went with its original lineup while Virtanen replaced Patrik Niklas-Salminen.
Pospisil received treatment on his right shoulder and neck area late in the first set. He returned after a short delay and had his serve broken as Finland converted its second set point.
“I was in a lot of pain,” Pospisil said. “It’s not fun playing in pain.”
“I would have rather not played if we had somebody that was healthy and willing to go, but I was healthy enough,” he added. “My goal now is just to be healthy for next year.”
Pressure on Pospisil
The Canadians needed 10 minutes to complete a hold at 1-1 in the second set, saving six break points along the way. But the Finnish duo kept the pressure on and broke Pospisil’s serve again for a 5-3 lead before closing out the match.
In the bottom half of the Final 8 draw, Italy will play the Netherlands and Serbia will take on Britain. The final was scheduled for Sunday.
Raonic came out firing in the opener by winning his first four points with aces, losing just one point on serve in the opening set. The former world No. 3, who returned to the ATP Tour this season after an extended injury absence, closed out the win in a tidy 67 minutes.
“To be here alongside these guys, contributing and trying to just enjoy it, you appreciate these moments a lot more once there is not as many of them,” said the 32-year-old Raonic, who made his Davis Cup debut in 2010.
Canada’s Milos Raonic rides serve to dominant Davis Cup win
Featured VideoRaonic had 18 aces on his way to a straight sets victory over Finland’s Patrick Kaukovalta.
At No. 29, Auger-Aliassime was the lone Canadian player ranked in the top 100. Finland’s highest-ranked singles player — No. 69 Emil Ruusuvuori — was unavailable due to a shoulder injury.
Denis Shapovalov of Richmond Hill, Ont., who won the opening match in last year’s final, was also unavailable. He’s still recovering from a knee injury and wasn’t nominated to the roster.
Auger-Aliassime reached a career-best No. 6 last year but his ranking has slipped due to a middling 2023 campaign. However, he showed strong form in successfully defending his Swiss Indoors title last month in Basel.
Opposite outcomes for Raonic, Diallo
Raonic, the world No. 318, had his ranking plummet after a Tour absence of nearly two years.
He returned in June and showed he could still hang at the top level when he upset American Frances Tiafoe — then ranked 10th in the world — at the National Bank Open in August.
On Tuesday, Raonic was given the official word on his playing status about an hour before match time. Kaukovalta, the world No. 782, had no answer for the Canadian’s booming serve.
“I took care of my serve and I created quite a few opportunities,” Raonic said. “Just kept putting myself in good positions and it worked out pretty well.”
The 139th-ranked Diallo, an up-and-coming player who has enjoyed success on the lower-level Challenger circuit, was overpowered at times by the 170th-ranked Virtanen, who was encouraged by a vocal contingent of Finnish supporters in the crowd.
“Either you win or you learn,” Diallo said. “Today I learned.”
Canada beat Finland 4-1 in 1966 on outdoor clay at Helsinki in their only previous Davis Cup matchup.
Finland draws even with Canada as Virtanen beats Diallo at Davis Cup
Featured VideoGabriel Diallo couldn’t keep up with Otto Virtanen’s power game and fell in straight sets in Malaga.
VANCOUVER – The Vancouver Canucks announced Tuesday that defenceman Alex Edler will sign a one-day contract in order to officially retire as a member of the NHL team.
The signing will be part of a celebration of Edler’s career held Oct. 11 when the Canucks host the Philadelphia Flyers.
The Canucks selected Edler, from Ostersund, Sweden, in the third round (91st overall) of the 2004 NHL draft.
He played in 925 career games for the Canucks between the 2006-07 and 2020-21 seasons, ranking fourth in franchise history and first among defencemen.
The 38-year-old leads all Vancouver defencemen with 99 goals, 310 assists and 177 power-play points with the team.
Edler also appeared in 82 career post-season contests with Vancouver and was an integral part of the Canucks’ run to the 2011 Stanley Cup final, putting up 11 points (2-9-11) across 25 games.
“I am humbled and honoured to officially end my career and retire as a member of the Vancouver Canucks,” Edler said in a release. “I consider myself lucky to have started my career with such an outstanding organization, in this amazing city, with the best fans in the NHL. Finishing my NHL career where it all began is something very special for myself and my family.”
Edler played two seasons for Los Angeles in 2021-22 and 2022-23. He did not play in the NHL last season.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 17, 2024.
The sixth-ranked Canadian women will face World Cup champion Spain in an international friendly next month.
Third-ranked Spain will host Canada on Oct. 25 at Estadio Francisco de la Hera in Almendralejo.
The game will be the first for the Canadian women since the Paris Olympics, where they lost to Germany in a quarterfinal penalty shootout after coach Bev Priestman was sent home and later suspended for a year by FIFA over her part in Canada’s drone-spying scandal.
In announcing the Spain friendly, Canada Soccer said more information on the interim women’s coaching staff for the October window will come later. Assistant coach Andy Spence took charge of the team in Priestman’s absence at the Olympics.
Spain finished fourth in Paris, beaten 1-0 by Germany in the bronze-medal match.
Canada is winless in three previous meetings (0-2-1) with Spain, most recently losing 1-0 at the Arnold Clark Cup in England in February 2022.
The teams played to a scoreless draw in May 2019 in Logroñés, Spain in a warm-up for the 2019 World Cup. Spain won 1-0 in March 2019 at the Algarve Cup in São João da Venda, Portugal.
Spain is a powerhouse in the women’s game these days.
It won the FIFA U-20 World Cup in 2022 and was runner-up in 2018. And it ousted Canada 2-1 in the round of 16 of the current U-20 tournament earlier this month in Colombia before falling 1-0 to Japan after extra time in the quarterfinal.
Spain won the FIFA U-17 World Cup in 2018 and 2022 and has finished on the podium on three other occasions.
FC Barcelona’s Aitana Bonmati (2023) and Alexia Putellas (2021 and ’22) have combined to win the last three Women’s Ballon d’Or awards.
And Barcelona has won three of the last four UEFA Women’s Champions League titles.
“We continue to strive to diversify our opponent pool while maintaining a high level of competition.” Daniel Michelucci, Canada Soccer’s director of national team operations, said in a statement. “We anticipate a thrilling encounter, showcasing two of the world’s top-ranked teams.”
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This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 17, 2024
TORONTO – The Toronto Maple Leafs have announced cookie brand Oreo as the team’s helmet sponsor for the upcoming NHL season.
The new helmet will debut Sunday when Toronto opens its 2024-25 pre-season against the Ottawa Senators at Scotiabank Arena.
The Oreo logo replaces Canadian restaurant chain Pizza Pizza, which was the Leafs’ helmet sponsor last season.
Previously, social media platform TikTok sponsored Toronto starting in the 2021-22 regular season when the league began allowing teams to sell advertising space on helmets.
The Oreo cookie consists of two chocolate biscuits around a white icing filling and is often dipped in milk.
Fittingly, the Leafs wear the Dairy Farmers of Ontario’s “Milk” logo on their jerseys.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 17, 2024.
