MONTREAL — Alexis Galarneau cherished the opportunity to complete an epic comeback for Canada in front of his hometown crowd.
Despite his valiant effort, he fell just short of finishing the job.
Galarneau, of Laval, Que., lost a hard-fought battle to Hungary’s Marton Fucsovics 7-6 (8), 6-4 in Davis Cup action on Sunday.
Fucsovics’s victory in the decisive fifth match lifted Hungary past Canada 3-2 in the men’s team tennis tournament first-round qualifier.
"I felt proud to represent Canada, to have the chance to complete the comeback. To go from 0-2 to 3-2 would have been incredible,” said Galarneau, keeping his head high. “After losing, you come down pretty quickly. But that's tennis sometimes."
Canada had battled back after falling behind 2-0 in the best-of-five tie with singles losses from Galarneau and Montreal’s Gabriel Diallo on Saturday.
Vasek Pospisil of Vernon, B.C., and Liam Draxl of Newmarket, Ont., opened the day by beating Hungary’s Mate Valkusz and Peter Fajta 7-6 (2), 6-4 in a must-win doubles match.
Diallo then rolled to a 6-1, 6-3 victory over Hungary’s Fabian Marozsan in men's singles at IGA Stadium.
“I said at the start of the week that it was going to be a long weekend, I didn’t expect it to be 3-0 for either side,” Canada team captain Frank Dancevic said. “The last match was really an incredible fight from Alexis. Fucsovics played at a really high level.
“I’m really proud of my guys, how they played and how we almost won. It was tough to come back from 2-0, but we found a way to give ourselves a chance."
Hungary advances to the second round of qualifiers in September. Canada has been relegated to the World Group 1 level, where it will have to beat a to-be-determined opponent to earn a spot in the Davis Cup first round next year.
Canada won its first-ever Davis Cup title in 2022 and reached the quarterfinals the last two years. The country lost for only the second time in its last 11 ties on home soil.
"It's part of Davis Cup,” Dancevic said. “You're gonna go up, you're gonna go down. It's not every year you're gonna win it, unless you're Italy, but it's part of the journey.”
Canada was ranked third in the Davis Cup standings and the Hungarians were 22nd.
But while Hungary brought its best overseas, top Canadian stars Felix Auger-Aliassime and Denis Shapovalov were unavailable this weekend.
No. 22 Auger-Aliassime won the Open Occitanie in Montpellier, France, earlier Sunday and the 53rd-ranked Shapovalov withdrew from the Davis Cup last week, citing a back injury.
The 23-year-old Diallo, at No. 85, was the top-ranked singles player on Canada’s roster.
“These guys, they're young guys, they don't have that much experience on the team,” Dancevic said. “They've played a few times, but the Davis Cup is something that takes a lot of emotions from you, managing emotions, managing the weekend, and it's a great learning experience for them."
Tied 3-3 in the first set, the No. 176 Galarneau fended off six break points to hold serve and take the lead against Fucsovics, a former world No. 31.
Galarneau later saved three set points during the tiebreak — drawing “Olé, Olé, Olé” chants out of the 1,760 spectators around the intimate indoor hard court. Fucsovics, however, ultimately took the marathon set in 74 minutes.
The 25-year-old Galarneau jumped out to a 4-2 lead in the second set, but Fucsovics charged back with two straight breaks. Galarneau thwarted two match points in the final game before sending his backhand into the net on Fucsovics’s third.
Earlier, the 34-year-old Pospisil played his final Davis Cup match while Draxl, 23, competed in his first.
Canada jumped out to a 5-1 lead in the first-set tiebreak when Draxl converted a volley at the net. Pospisil then hit an ace on set point to give Canada the advantage.
Pospisil hit a backhand return winner down the line to break Hungary for the first time and give Canada a 2-1 lead in the second. The Canadians held serve the rest of the way, with Pospisil hitting another ace on match point.
"I felt so comfortable out there with Liam,” Pospisil said after their first time teaming up. “Speaks volumes for both his skill and energy. I wouldn't feel comfortable if he wasn't playing at a high level.
“We formed just like an amazing combination.”
Diallo stepped onto the court hungry to avenge his loss on Saturday. The 23-year-old broke Marozsan three times in a dominant first set before cruising in the second, smashing his 11th ace on match point to win convincingly in 63 minutes.
“Yesterday's match was really tough,” Diallo said. “I really wish maybe I could have had a beer or two, that would help. But, you know, we had a match today, so maybe I'll have it tonight, win or lose.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 2, 2025.
Daniel Rainbird, The Canadian Press
