Alexis Galarneau victory vaults defending champion Canada into Davis Cup final 8

Defending champion Canada secured a spot in the Davis Cup final eight with Alexis Galarneau's straight-sets singles win over Chile's Alejandro Tabilo on Saturday in Bologna, Italy.

After sweeping host Italy and Sweden to open the 16-country group stage of finals, Canada needed to win one of three matches against Chile on Saturday to move onto November's final eight in Malaga, Spain.

With a world singles ranking of 200, the 24-year-old Galarneau from Laval, Que., got the job done early in Canada's first singles match on Unipol Arena's hard court.

His 6-3, 7-6(5) victory over Tabilo ensured Canada will advance in what's been dubbed the World Cup of men's team tennis.

Canada defeated Australia in 2022 to win the Davis Cup for the first time.

The two countries were given byes to this year's group stage final, in which the top two countries in each pool of four move on to Malaga.

WATCH | Galarneau makes quick work of Chile's Alejandro Tabilo: