THE HAGUE, NETHERLANDS – Canada will have to come from behind in hostile territory on Saturday to hope they qualify for the Davis Cup Final after failing in the first two matches of the qualifying match against The Hague in the Netherlands.

Despite great efforts, rookie Alexis Galarneau lost first in consecutive sets 7-5, 7-6 (9) to Botic van de Zandschulp, the 48th player in the world, in a match that lasted two hours and 19 minutes.

Then, Tallon Griekspoor, in 54th place, defeated Steven Diez, the 294th player in the world, in two identical sets 6-4.

Diez had just one break in two attempts in the first game of the second set and faced 16 break points. The Dutchman took advantage of three of them, including the last matches of each of the two sets.

A doubles match and two other duels are scheduled for Saturday. The games are played on dirt.

The winning country will win its place in the Davis Cup Final, which will be held next fall. The loser will have to do his homework again in Group I of his area, in September.

Lost chances

In 332nd place in the world, Galarneau, a resident of Laval who celebrated his 23rd birthday on Wednesday, failed to take advantage of his opponent’s problems in service.

Van de Zandschulp scored just one ace, made eight double faults and had 12 break points. Galarneau made just four conversions and himself suffered five service breaks on seven occasions.

In the first set, Galarneau suffered a crucial break in the 11th game, giving his opponent the opportunity to close the first set on his serve. The Dutchman did not miss his chance, gaining the necessary four points without conceding a single one.

In the 12th game of the second set, Galarneau took three sets of points in the serve of van de Zandschulp and a quarter in the tiebreak, but the latter resisted each time.

Galarneau showed courage in this break as well, surpassing three points in the match, before finally conceding the victory to his most experienced opponent.