Feeling at home, Finland upset defending champion Canada to reach the semifinals of the Davis Cup for the first time.
Otto Virtanen and Harri Heliovaara defeated Alexis Galarneau and Vasek Pospisil 7-5, 6-3 in the decisive doubles match to give the 14th-ranked Finns the victory over No. 1 Canada in the first of the quarterfinals in southern 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 was backed by some 3,000 thousand Finnish fans at the Martin Carpena arena 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.”
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 best performances before this year were three appearances in the World Cup playoffs — the last in 2002. Canada won its first Davis Cup title last year, defeating Australia in the final in Malaga.
“This is why we play tennis,” Heliovaara said.
“Today was definitely one of the highest days of my career in terms of emotions. We knew beforehand there was going to be a big Finnish supporter group, but you never know how good it’s going to feel until you actually experience that on court. The emotions are something that I can cherish for the rest of my life.”
