One of the biggest ties of the Davis Cup group stage takes place on Day 2 in the Caja Magica, Madrid.
Multiple time Davis Cup champions United States take on Canada. Unusuall,y the two North American countries are relatively equal in stature in terms of the players available at their disposal. Canada will be looking to seal qualification to the knockout rounds after already defeating Italy yesterday.
Read our match-by-match verdicts below:
Reilly Opelka vs Vasek Pospisil
Head-to-Head Record: Pospisil 1-0 Opelka
The biggest shock in this match would be to see a break of serve. Both players are renowned for their strong service and it is usually a struggle for both players to make a big impact on return. Add this to the altitude in Madrid and we can expect to see a lot of comfortable service holds.
Pospisil is in a very rich vein of form right now, despite being ranked way below his peak level. He won two Challenger tournaments back-to-back leading into the Davis Cup and confirmed that form by defeating Fabio Fognini yesterday to get Canada off to a flying start.
Opelka has had a solid season and rounded it off with a strong showing indoors in Basel, reaching the semifinals.
This match should come down to one or two points in each set so it is a tough one to call, especially with both players being fairly confident at the minute. Pospisil is slightly favoured as he is warm and familiar with conditions slightly more than the American.
Prediction: Pospisil in 3 (at least one tiebreak!)
Taylor Fritz vs Denis Shapovalov
Head-to-Head Record: Shapovalov 1-0 Fritz
The Canadian recorded a fantastic victory for his country on Day 1 against ATP Finalist Matteo Berrettini. This match encapsulated the apparent improvement in Shapovalov’s form since Mikhail Youzhny became involved in the coaching box. All three sets went to tiebreaks but the Canadian was able to win the key points at the end of the match.
Taylor Fritz has shown further signs of adapting to the main tour this year with a 58% win ratio. He also won a title at Eastbourne and has clearly enjoyed quick conditions. It seems likely that Fritz will find the conditions in Madrid to his taste as well.
Shapovalov is slightly favoured to win the match due to his greater recent form and extra confidence. Again it is expected to be a tight one with a high likelihood of further tiebreaks.
Prediction: Shapovalov in 3
Sam Querrey and Jack Sock vs Vasek Pospisil and Denis Shapovalov
The doubles is where the US will be expected to shine in this tie. If the tie comes down to this rubber then the US team will feel confident of progression.
Jack Sock may have allowed his singles ranking to plummet into oblivion but he is one of the best doubles practitioners in the world right now. Querrey is no slouch on the doubles court either and both Americans have big booming serves that will be tough to break.
Pospisil and Shapovalov will have played every rubber for Canada by this point and may be playing on empty fumes, especially if, as predicted, both singles rubbers are tense, tight and long.
Prediction: Querrey and Sock in 2
Overall tie prediction: Canada 2-1 USA
