Draxl

VANCOUVER — He expected a dogfight, but Gabriel Diallo didn’t think he would be the one bitten.

The 24-year-old from Montreal, ranked 39th in the world, lost to No. 253-ranked Gustavo Heide 6-7 (4), 6-3, 6-7 (3) as Canada split its opening singles matches against Brazil in Friday’s first round of Davis Cup Qualifiers.

In the evening’s first match, Liam Draxl of Newmarket, Ont., ranked 145th, defeated 207th-ranked Lucas Reis da Silva, 6-3, 6-3 in 75 minutes.

On paper the 24-year-old Diallo was expected to have the upper hand against Heide.

Noted for his cannon serves, Diallo’s return game struggled. That allowed Heide to remain in the match, and force Diallo into errors that brought cheers from the Brazilian fans inside the Doug Mitchell Thunderbird Sports Centre at the University of British Columbia. 

“I was ready for a dogfight today, unfortunately it didn’t go my way,” said Diallo, who lost the match in two hours, 42 minutes.

“I felt pretty confident with my serve. Some of them he played really well. Some of them maybe I could have been better. There were key moments that I wish I played a little bit better or with a little more conviction.”

Diallo came to Vancouver after suffering a first-round loss to Germany’s Alexander Zverev at the Australian Open. Last year was his first full season on tour where he broke into the Top 50, climbing as high as No. 33. He won his first tour-level title on grass at the Libema Open in the Netherlands.

Heide said patience paid off against Diallo.

“I knew it was going to be a really tough match,” the 23-year-old right-hander from Sao Paulo said through an interpreter. “I knew he was a good server, and I managed to return really well during the match. When I had the opportunity, I was there and made good serves to close the match.”

Brazilian captain Jaime Oncins praised Heide’s resilience.

“The way he fights,” said Oncins. “The score doesn’t matter if you’re fighting for the next point, and that’s what he did.”

In the other match, Draxl broke Reis da Silva’s service three times while winning the second set. On back-to-back plays in the opening game he scored a point with a seeing-eye cross-court shot, then took command with a powerful overhand smash.

Draxl admitted he breathed a sigh of relief after his victory.

“It’s kind of a weight off my shoulders,” said the 24-year-old. “You want to put Canada up to start. You’re trying to do the best you can.”

Winning a set on break points early in the opening set gave Draxl extra confidence.

“It was really nice to get that hold under my belt,” he said. “I just started flowing after that.

“He is really tough and I knew he wasn’t going to go anywhere. That’s why I had to keep my nose ahead because I knew he could play some really good tennis.”

The win gives Brazil momentum heading into Saturday’s matches in the best-of-five showdown.

“I think coming back with that win, it’s very important to us,” said Oncins. “It gives us a lot of energy for the rest of the team.”

Draxl and Calgary’s Cleeve Harper will face Orlando Luz and Rafael Matos in a doubles match, while Diallo meets Reis da Silva in singles. If a fifth and deciding match is required, Draxl will play Heider in singles.

Canada came into the competition ranked No. 9 while Brazil is No. 18.

Harper and Draxl are in tough against the Brazilian doubles pair that lost in the quarterfinals of the Australian Open.

Canadian captain Frank Dancevic is confident his team can regroup for the final day.

“The goal right now is just focus match by match,” said Dancevic. “We’re not in a terrible position right now. We know how the guys can play.

“We’ve been through many of these moments in the past where we’ve lost tough matches. We came back and we’ve won ties. It’s part of Davis Cup.”

Also on Saturday, a ceremony will be held to honour Vasek Pospisil, the Vernon, B.C., tennis veteran who recently announced his retirement.

If the Canadians win this weekend they are guaranteed to host the next tie in a venue yet to be confirmed.

Last year Canada lost to Hungary in the 2025 Qualifiers first round at IGA Stadium in Montreal.