Gabriel Diallo, of Canada, hits a return to Soonwoo Kwon, of South Korea, during the first singles match of the Davis Cup tennis qualifiers in Montreal, Friday, Feb. 2, 2024. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Christinne Muschi
MONTREAL – Canada is in the driver’s seat after a perfect start to its Davis Cup qualifier against South Korea.
Vasek Pospisil of Vernon, B.C., defeated Seongchan Hong 6-4, 6-3 on Friday after Montreal’s Gabriel Diallo opened with a 6-4, 6-4 win over Soonwoo Kwon, giving No. 2-ranked Canada a 2-0 lead over No. 18 South Korea in the best-of-five event.
The 33-year-old Pospisil, playing in the 33rd Davis Cup tie of his career, improved to 32-25 all-time in tournament play.
Diallo, 22, won his match in one hour 30 minutes in front of 1,829 spectators inside IGA Stadium, including some of the hometown player’s family and friends.
Play continues Saturday with Pospisil and Alexis Galarneau of Laval, Que., scheduled to play doubles against Jisung Nam and Minkyu Song.
Diallo then meets Hong while Pospisil faces Kwon in two singles rubbers, though lineups are subject to change.
Tennis Canada announced tickets for Saturday were sold out.
Diallo said he cherished the opportunity to play in front of his home crowd.
“It’s what I’ve worked for,” he said. “For me, there’s no bigger moment than this, I’m from the city, from this neighbourhood, I live seven minutes away and grew up coming (to) practise here.”
Despite falling to No. 700 due to injuries, Kwon was a tricky opponent. The former world No. 52 previously upset top Canadian Felix Auger-Aliassime in Davis Cup play in 2022.
The six-foot-eight 198-pound Diallo – who ranks No. 132 on the ATP Tour – hit 11 aces to Kwon’s two and led with 11 winners to five. Diallo had 47 unforced errors while Kwon made 41 in a match filled with mistakes.
The two sets played out in a similar fashion.
Kwon went up a break midway through each set, but Diallo quickly broke back on both occasions to gain momentum.
“The best time to break is right after you’ve been broken,” Diallo said. “It can be tough to consolidate your break, so I know he can let his guard down a bit after breaking.
“I stayed composed when things weren’t looking too good “¦ I dragged it, dragged it, made him think about it, and I think I did a good job of staying there and not fading away.”
Pospisil and Hong met for the second time after the Canadian won in a third-set tiebreak during Davis Cup play in 2022.
On this occasion, Pospisil dominated with 22 winners to Hong’s five to overcome his 40 unforced errors.
Hong broke to go up 2-1 and held on to his advantage for a 4-2 lead before Pospisil won four straight games, taking the set on a Kwon double fault.
After falling down a break again early in the second, Pospisil won four straight games for a commanding 5-2 lead. Pospisil then held serve up 5-3, winning with a volley to earn the win.
The match took 1:48 to complete, partially due to delays as Pospisil took issue with the pressure of the balls several times.
Montreal last hosted a Davis Cup tie in September 2012 when Canada beat South Africa 4-1.
Former world No. 3 Milos Raonic of Thornhill, Ont., and Liam Draxl of Newmarket, Ont., round out the Canadian team with top players Denis Shapovalov of Richmond Hill, Ont., and Auger-Aliassime, from Montreal, absent.
Canada won its only previous encounter against South Korea during the 2022 round-robin tournament in Valencia, Spain, en route to its first Davis Cup title. Canada lost to Finland in the quarterfinals last year.
The winning country advances to the group stage of the Davis Cup Finals in September. The Finals take place in November at Malaga, Spain.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 2, 2024.
