(Bologna) Ten grams of salt. This is probably what allowed Vasek Pospisil to emerge victorious from his singles duel Thursday in the group stage of the Davis Cup finals.
Pospisil shrugged off the numerous cramps that plagued him during his duel against Leo Borg, en route to a 7-6 (5), 5-7, 6-2 victory that gave him a lead of 1 -0 in Canada against Sweden.
“I started to feel cramps towards the end of the second set, when the tension was a little more intense,” said Pospisil, out of breath, after the match. I haven’t played many matches lately, and I really wanted to get this victory for our country… I was tired at the start of the third round, and that’s why I had to consume almost 10 grams salt. That’s probably what saved me. »
Pospisil, from Vernon, British Columbia, took two hours and 26 minutes to overcome Borg on the cement of the Unipol Arena in Bologna, a poorly air-conditioned amphitheater.
“It’s very humid here, and I was just trying to hang on to be honest,” Pospisil admitted. I tried to speed up the pace of the game, shorten each point by going up to the net, and take extra risks, and luckily it worked.
“I’m just starting to breathe, which helps me think. I feel like I had a 20 minute gap in this match, I don’t know. I tried a few bold moves and they worked. So much the better,” he continued.
The 33-year-old veteran started his match with a bang, having recorded the break at the expense of Borg – the son of the legendary Björn Borg – in the second game of the match. The Swede, 334e in the world, however, fought back in the next game, bringing the score to 2-1. Both players then held their serve until the tiebreaker.
Borg briefly took control after getting the mini-break to make it 3-1, but Pospisil didn’t give up and came from behind to make it 4-3 in his favor. He then sealed the outcome of the first set tiebreaker at 7-5, after 59 minutes of play.
The second set was even tighter, with both players preserving their serve until the 13th.e game. Borg then converted his first set point to win 7-5, after 54 minutes of play. Which set the table for a final set.
Bad news for the Canadian, since he then began to feel cramps which affected his game. Pospisil nevertheless kept a cool head and managed breaks in the fifth and seventh games to build a 5-point lead. 2. He then sealed the outcome of the match on serve at zero, with a backhand that hit the top of the net before falling to Borg’s side.
Montrealer Gabriel Diallo, who scored his first Davis Cup victory the day before against Italian Lorenzo Musetti, could give Canada victory a little later today in his singles match against Elias Ymer, 175e in the world. Diallo is number 158e ATP world ranking player.
If necessary, a doubles match will be used to settle the debate between the two countries at the end of the day.
Canada will complete the group stage against Chile on Saturday.
The top two teams from each group will advance to the elimination rounds, which will take place November 21-26 in Malaga, Spain. This is also where the champion country will be crowned.
Denis Shapovalov of Richmond Hill, Ont., is part of the Canadian quartet in Bologna. The 31ste World player is however limited to a spectator role, and he has not played since his defeat in the round of 16 at Wimbledon. The 24-year-old tennis player nevertheless has a 14-9 record since his first participation in the Davis Cup in 2016.
Quebecer Félix Auger-Aliassime, 14e world racket, is absent from the competition.
Canada’s conquest of the title in 2022 – sealed following a 2-0 victory over Australia in the final in Malaga – was the country’s first since 1913 in this competition.
