Davis Cup 2023: Canada vs Finland preview, players to look out for, odds, prediction and pick
Match Details
Tournament: Davis Cup
Fixture: Canada vs Finland
Date: November 21, 2023
Tournament: Davis Cup Finals 2023
Round: Quarterfinal
Venue: Martin Carpena Arena, Malaga, Spain
Category: Davis Cup
Surface: Indoor hardcourt
Live telecast: USA – Tennis Channel | UK – Amazon Prime Video | Canada - TSN
Davis Cup 2023 Canada vs Finland preview
Canada will take on Finland in the quarterfinals of the Davis Cup in Malaga.
The Canadians won the tournament last year, and thus, qualified directly for the finals. Here, they were drawn in Group A alongside Italy, Sweden, and Chile.
The North Americans started their campaign against Italy and sealed the fixture after Alexis Galarneau and Gabriel Diallo beat Lorenzo Sonego and Lorenzo Musetti respectively. Galarneau then teamed up with Vasek Pospisil for the doubles fixture and they defeated Matteo Arnaldi and Simone Bolelli to win the tie 3-0.
The Canadians followed this up by defeating Sweden by the same margin. Vasek Pospisil and Gabriel Diallo notched up wins over Leo Borg and Elias Ymer respectively to seal another victory for Canada before the former and Alexis Galarneau won the doubles encounter against Filip Bergevi and Andre Goransson.
They then faced Chile and the scores were 1-1 after Galarneau beat Alejandro Tabilo and Nicolas Jarry triumphed over Gabriel Diallo. Once again, Canada's doubles pair defeated Chile's pair to make it three wins out of three for them.
Finland had a disappointing start to the Davis Cup finals as they lost 2-1 to the Netherlands. The Finns took the lead after Otto Virtanen beat Botic van de Zandschulp. Emil Ruusuvuori then triumphed over Tallon Griekspoor to level the scores before Wesley Middelkoop and Wesley Koolhof won the doubles tie.
Finland then faced Croatia and wins from Ruusuvuori and Virtanen saw them win the match. Croatia did manage to get a consolation win thanks to Ivan Dodig and Mate Pavic in the doubles match.
The Finns were up against the United States in their last group game and their singles players won both of their fixtures to put them through to the knockout stages. Harri Heliovaara and Patrick Kaukovalta won the doubles tie to ensure that Finland won their group.
Davis Cup 2023 Canada vs Finland: Players to look out for
Defending champions Canada will be glad to have Felix Auger-Aliassime for the knockout stages and a lot of hopes will be pinned on him throughout the tournament.
Vasek Pospisil and Alexis Galarneau have won every match they've played so far in the tournament and they will also be crucial for Canada's chances against Finland if it comes down to the doubles match.
Finland will look for Emil Ruusuvuori to give them a crucial victory, while Harri Heliovaara will also be expected to do well in the doubles match. It will be interesting to see who will partner the latter, considering he teamed up with Kaukovalta and the duo won against the United States.
Davis Cup 2023 Canada vs Finland odds
Odds are sourced from Oddschecker.
Davis Cup 2023 Canada vs Finland prediction
Canada will enter the match as the favorites considering the recent resurgence of Felix Auger-Aliassime, who won the Swiss Indoors in Basel. They also have a decent doubles pairing of Vasek Pospisil and Alexis Galarneau, who have won each of their matches so far.
However, Emil Ruusuvuori is a player who can be very dangerous on his day and if he takes on Auger-Aliassime, he could put up a tough fight. Harri Heliovaara's doubles experience will also be crucial.
Otto Virtanen and Gabriel Diallo have both had some good wins, and both could be decisive during the tie.
While Finland have the players who could give the Canadians a run for their money, there's a good chance of the latter coming out on top given the players they have and their form throughout the tournament.
Prediction: Canada to win 2-1