Canada’s Davis Cup defence ended at the quarter-final stage as Finland came from behind to win 2-1 and progress to the last four in Malaga, Spain.
Milos Raonic, making his first Davis Cup appearance in five years, had put the Canadians ahead with a 6-3 7-5 victory over Patrick Kaukovalta.
But Otto Virtanen levelled for Finland by beating Gabriel Diallo 6-4 7-5.
He and Harri Heliovaara then defeated Alexis Galarneau and Vasek Pospisil in the deciding doubles.
The Finns won 7-5 6-3 to book a semi-final spot for the first time in the nation’s history.
Canada had been dealt a blow before the start of the tie when top-ranked player Felix Auger-Aliassime was forced to sit out with a “lower body” issue, while Finnish number one Emil Ruusuvuori was also missing through injury.
Finland will play either Australia, who were runners-up last year, or the Czech Republic in the semi-finals. They play on Wednesday, while Italy and the Netherlands meet on Thursday.
Great Britain’s bid for Davis Cup glory also starts on Thursday when they take on Serbia, led by Novak Djokovic, in the quarter-finals from 15:00 GMT. You can watch that tie live on BBC iPlayer and the BBC Sport website and app.
The semi-finals will be played on Friday and Saturday, before the champions of the 123-year-old men’s team event are decided in Sunday’s showpiece.
Source : BBC
