MALAGA, Spain (AP) — Feeling right at home, Finland disappointed defending champion Canada by triumphing in the Davis Cup semifinals for the first time on Tuesday.
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Otto Virtanen and Harri Heliovaara beat Alexis Galarneau and Vasek Pospisil 7-5, 6-3 in the doubles decider to give the 14th-ranked Finns victory over No. 1 Canada in the first of the quarterfinals. final in the south of Spain.
Virtanen had kept Finland alive by defeating Gabriel Diallo 6-4, 7-5 in the second singles match after Milos Raonic had given Canada the first point with a 6-3, 7-5 win over Patrick Kaukovalta.
Finland supported through some 3,000 thousand Finnish fans at the Arena Martín Carpena in Malaga.
“We are not in Finland but we feel like we are in Finland,” Virtanen said. “I love the pressure of playing in front of these fans, it just makes me play better every time, all the support I get. It means everything to play for my country. Today was amazing.”
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Fuengirola, a town about 30 kilometers (18 miles) south of Malaga, is home to the second largest community of Finns outside Finland, and 14 busloads of fans made the trip. They joined more than 1,000 fans who came from Finland, according to local organizers.
Finland is the first Scandinavian nation to reach the Davis Cup semifinals since Sweden in 2007.
Finland’s performances before this year have included three World Cup playoff appearances, the last in 2002. Canada won its first Davis Cup title last year, beating Australia in the final in Malaga.
“That’s why we play tennis,” Heliovaara said. “Today is definitely one of the richest days of my career in terms of emotions. We knew in advance that there would be a giant organization of Finnish supporters, but you never know how smart it is. You will feel it until you enjoy it on the pitch. The Emotions are all I can cherish for the rest of my life.
Both countries’ No. 1 players were injured: Canada’s Felix Auger-Aliassime with a lower-body problem and Finland’s Emil Ruusuvuori with a shoulder ailment.
Raonic, the former World No. 3, hit 4 aces and never allowed Kaukovalta to advance to the opening match. The 32-year-old Raonic, who hadn’t played for Canada in five years, lost just one point on his serve in the first set and 3 in the entire match.
Finland leveled the tie when the 22-year-old Virtanen broke his serve once in the set against Diallo.
In doubles, Finland broke serve to take a 5-3 lead in the second set, then closed out the match and leveled. Heliovaara said he and Virtanen had never played doubles together.
“We went through the signs and through the tactics just 15 minutes before the match,” Heliovaara said. “But that’s sometimes what works the best. Let it happen. No expectations. Just do your best. Be a good teammate. We did exactly that.”
Australia will face the Czech Republic on Wednesday in the quarterfinals, with the winner facing Finland. On Thursday, Italy will face the Netherlands and Great Britain will face Novak Djokovic’s Serbia.
The semi-finals will be played on Friday and Saturday with the winner to be played on Sunday.
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