Canada’s reign as Davis Cup champions was ended by outsiders Finland who produced a big shock on the opening day of the Final Eight in Malaga on Tuesday.

Roared on by thousands of Finnish fans, Otto Virtanen and Harri Heliovaara beat Vasek Pospisil and Alexis Galarneau 7-5, 6-3 to move in to the semi-finals 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 quarter finals 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 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 km 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 semi-finals since Sweden in 2007. Canada won their first Davis Cup title last year, defeating Australia in the final in Malaga.

The No. 1 player for both countries were out injured — Canada’s Felix Auger-Aliassime with a lower body issue and Finland’s Emil Ruusuvuori with a shoulder ailment.

Australia will play the Czech Republic in another quarter final on Wednesday, with the winner taking on Finland.

On Thursday, it will be Italy against the Netherlands and Great Britain against Novak Djokovic’s Serbia.

The semifinals will be played both on Friday and Saturday, with the winner being crowned on Sunday.