QUÉBEC — Canada has officially punched their ticket for the Davis Cup Final 8 in November. Montreal’s Félix Auger-Aliassime clinched Canada’s spot in the year-end team tournament, storming back to defeat world No. 31 Arthur Rinderknech 4-6, 7-6 (5), 6-4 Saturday to win the best-of-five second-round qualifier 3-1 against France at the Videotron Centre. Auger-Aliassime hit a blistering 17 aces in the match, while committing just a single double fault across the two-hour, 21-minute match. Auger-Aliassime won his tenth consecutive Davis Cup singles match, a streak dating back to September 2022. He also defeated Quentin Halys 7-6 (5), 4-6, 6-3 on Friday and boasts a 15-5 career record at the Davis Cup. Rinderknech, meanwhile, dropped his second consecutive Davis Cup singles match this weekend after also losing to Liam Draxl of Newmarket, Ont., 6-2, 7-5 on Friday. The 31-year-old dropped to 4-5 in singles play at the tournament. After dropping just two points through his opening four service games, Auger-Aliassime quickly found himself in trouble during the ninth game of the set. The world No. 5 fell behind 0-40 thanks to a handful of unforced errors, including his lone double fault of the match, to ultimately go down a break. Rinderknech would serve out the opener, making good on his second set point. The top-ranked Canadian had two break points of his own early in the second set, but was unable to convert on either. The set went to a tiebreaker, with Rinderknech taking the first three points and four of the first six. However, Auger-Aliassime battled back to win five of the next six to force a pivotal final set. Just like in the opening set, the ninth game of the frame proved pivotal. This time, however, it went Auger-Aliassime’s way as the Canadian earned the crucial break, much to the delight of the raucous Quebec City faithful. Auger-Aliassime would hold serve for the win and the tie moments later. Canada has reached the Davis Cup Finals for the sixth time in its history and for the first time in two years. For France, it marks another upsetting finish at the prestigious tournament. The ten-time champions failed to reach the Final 8 for the sixth time in the last seven years. It also marks their first Davis Cup loss to Canada in four matchups. Saturday’s action began with Auger-Aliassime and partner Duncan Chan’s 7-6 (4), 6-3 loss in doubles action to veterans Benjamin Bonzi and Pierre-Hugues Herbert. Both teams held serve through the opening set, with Bonzi and Herbert saving a set point before taking the tiebreak 7-4. France then secured the only break of the second set in the eighth game to close out the victory. “They were serving incredible,” said Chan. “I really couldn’t get comfortable on the return because they were just stretching me, putting away everything and not making any mistakes.” The Markham, Ont., native was playing in his first-ever Davis Cup match for Canada. “I wasn’t as nervous as I thought I would be,” said Chan. “I did feel some nerves at the end, though. I was missing a couple first serves. They’re not really giving us much room on the return, so there’s just so much pressure.” Quebec City welcomed 22,340 fans over the two days of competition, setting a new attendance record for a Davis Cup event held in Canada. The previous high of 21,842 fans was set over three days in Ottawa during a tie against Great Britain in 2017. Canada will next join seven other nations at the 2026 Davis Cup Finals in Bologna, Italy in late November. This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 19, 2026. Jordan Stoopler, The Canadian Press
