HALIFAX — Canada advanced to the 2026 Davis Cup Qualifiers after taking a 3-0 lead over Israel in a best-of-five tie played in an empty Halifax stadium amid protests.

Liam Draxl of Newmarket, Ont., and Cleeve Harper of Calgary came back from a set down to defeat Jordan Hasson and Ofek Shimanov 5-7, 6-0, 6-4 in Saturday’s first match.

Singles wins by Draxl and Montreal’s Gabriel Diallo on Friday meant the doubles victory sealed Canada’s advancement out of the World Group 1 stage and into next year’s qualifiers for the main Davis Cup tournament.

With victory assured, Canada elected to replace world No. 35 Diallo with Harper for a singles match with Orel Kimhi. Draxl was scheduled to cap the tie with a match against Daniel Cukierman.

Tennis Canada made the call earlier this week to hold t

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