Auger-Aliassime Heroics, Rune Return Among Top…

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With the 2026 FIFA World Cup well in the rearview mirror, this year’s Davis Cup – the World Cup of Men’s Tennis – has just taken shape.

The competition is down to the Final 8 as a few teams make their return to the quarters, with one country set to make their debut. While 14 nations battled for the remaining seven places in the Davis Cup Finals in Bologna, Italy, others played for a Qualifiers spot and the opportunity to vie for a ticket to the Final 8 in 2027.

Here are some of the best moments from last weekend’s Davis Cup action.

Auger-Aliassime Leads Canada Back into Final 8

It was a homecoming to remember for Félix Auger-Aliassime.

The Montrealer made his first Davis Cup appearance on Canadian soil, and his home debut was appropriately in his native province of Quebec. The Canadian record-setting crowd of more than 20 000 people truly got behind Canada’s No. 1 over the two days as the Canucks looked for their first-ever win against France.

Auger-Aliassime delivered. The world No. 5 followed up Liam Draxl’s biggest career win by beating France’s No. 2 Quentin Halys in a tight three-setter to bring Canada within a win of the Final 8, up 2-0.

The next day, Auger-Aliassime pulled double duty as he and Duncan Chan teamed up in doubles, but France kept the tie alive through Benjamin Bonzi and Pierre-Hugues Herbert.

It then looked like France were going to further extend the tie. World No. 31 Arthur Rinderknech went up a set in the third singles match against Auger-Aliassime; however, the Canadian turned things around. The 26-year-old won the second in a tiebreaker before sealing the tie in the decider, sending Canada through to the Davis Cup quarters after missing out last season.

READ MORE about Canada’s Davis Cup win over France.

Czechia Claim Davis Cup Classic

Czechia will be back in the Final 8 for the fourth-straight year, but the nation had to survive a thriller against the United States to keep their streak intact.

Jakub Mensik, the Czech No. 1, fell to Learner Tien in the opening match of the tie, leaving Jiri Lehecka in need of an upset against US Open finalist Ben Shelton. Lehecka put on a solid display in front of the Czech faithful as he defeated the world No. 4 in straight sets to even the tie.

The second day featured all the drama. The United States regained the lead through Christian Harrison and Austin Krajicek, who came back from a set down and saved two match points to beat Adam Pavlasek and Patrick Rikl.

Czechia were soon one-set away from elimination after Shelton took the opener against Mensik, but the nation won four-consecutive sets from that point on. The Prague crowd helped Mensik rally from a set down to complete the comeback, before Lehecka sealed the victory for Czechia thanks to his vital win over Tien in straights.

The Czechs will meet Canada in the quarter-finals in November.

South Korea Reach First Final 8

Bologna, Italy will welcome Davis Cup Finals debutants South Korea this November.

The nation went into their tie against India with just one player ranked inside the Top 500 – world No.158 Soonwoo Kwon. The South Koreans had to mount a comeback in each of their first two matches, with world No. 557 Hyeon Chung winning an over three-hour contest over Sumit Nagal to give his country the 2-0 advantage.

South Korea lost in doubles, but Kwon beat Nagal in just 68 minutes in the following match to punch his nation’s ticket into the Final 8. They are also the first Asian country to reach that stage of the competition since the format was introduced in 2022.

South Korea’s maiden Davis Cup quarter-final tie will be a tough test against three-time defending champions, Italy.

Rune Hero for Denmark in Return

After suffering an Achillies tear in October 2025, Holger Rune was back on court for Denmark’s Davis Cup World Group I tie against Bulgaria.

The former world No. 4 didn’t miss a beat in his first match back in nearly a year as he comfortably defeated Iliyan Radulov in straight sets. Then, Rune was back on court with the tie level at 2-2, needing a win over Grigor Dimitrov to send Denmark through to next year’s Qualifiers.

The two went the distance and even required a tiebreaker to settle the decisive set. Rune was the first to seven points, capping off a heroic return to action with the clutch victory.

Feature Photo: Pascal Ratthe