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SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA – The two nations headed to Vancouver right after the Australian Open, for a Davis tie that will aim to qualify them for the final rounds in the fall, won’t be bringing their best.
Félix Auger-Aliassime and Denis Shapovalov are not on the nomination list for Canada. And rising star Joao Fonseca also is conspiciously absent from the Team Brazil nominations for the tie, which will take place Feb. 6-7 at the Doug Mitchell Thunderbird Sports Centre.
So it will up to the next crew. And on that score, Canada is clearly the favorite.
Here are the nominations.
Canada
Gabriel Diallo
Liam Draxl
Alexis Galarneau
Nicolas Arsenault
Cleeve Harper
Brazil
Joao Lucas Reis da Silva
Gustavo Heide
Matheus Pucinelli de Almeida
Fernando Romboli
Marcelo Melo
Captain Frank Dancevic – or, more likely, someone in the office crafting this on his behalf – put a positive spin on it.
“We are very pleased to announce such a strong team for our upcoming Davis Cup tie in Vancouver,. Last year, for the first time in a long time, we didn’t make it to the final stage of the competition, which has only motivated us even more to make it happen this year. It all starts now against an excellent Brazilian team, and I am confident that our players are ready to take on the challenge. Canadian tennis fans, we look forward to seeing you in Vancouver and count on your support as we begin our journey to the 2026 Davis Cup Final 8.”
For the Brazilians, Reis da Silva is the third highest-ranked player in singles, after No. 29 Fonseca and No. 194 Thiago Monteiro.
Heide, 23, is ranked No. 239 and Pucinelli de Almeida, 24, is at No. 298.
The other two are doubles specialists.
With Diallo far and away more highly ranked (Draxl and Galarneau are, too), it should be a happy ending.
The Czechs will have a good squad – led by Jakub Mensik and Jiri Lehecka – for a home tie against Sweden.
The Americans, who will play in Hungary against a squad that does have Fabian Maroszan but not Marton Fucsovics, have a pretty thin group.
Ethan Quinn, Emilio Nava, Rajeev Ram and Austin Krajicek (who used to be a doubles pair but no longer are), are what they came up with.
There are … 12 American men ranked higher than Quinn and Nava, who currently stand at No. 76 and No. 88 respectively.
Ram, 41 and so often dissed by the USTA for Davis Cup selection when he was in his prime, is ranked No. 28 in doubles, while Krajicek, 35, is at No. 52.
The Netherlands will be without Tallon Griekspoor, and Japan will have Kei Nishikori, who hasn’t played much at all in recent months.
Bulgaria won’t have Grigor Dimitrov. But they will have Alexander Donski, who is actually a Canadian kid and one of many who changed their nationality for better opportunities with other countries.
The winning tie – at least so far – will be Great Britain vs. Norway as Casper Ruud and Jack Draper are both nominated.
Draper, though, hasn’t played in awhile and is missing the entire Australian summer that precedes it.
Germany (vs. Peru) won’t have Alexander Zverev who, it has to be said, has answered the call a lot in recent years. They likely won’t need him.
And Serbia, which has to travel all the way down to Chile to play on clay, won’t have Novak Djokovic.
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