VANCOUVER, B.C. – Canada wasn’t supposed to get this far.
But this weekend, captain Martin Laurendeau’s men take on Italy in the Davis Cup World Group quarter-final tie at the University of British Columbia’s Doug Mitchell Thunderbird Sports Centre after sending the top ranked Spanish squad out of the tournament in the first round in that same venue this February.
Then Canada overthrew a visiting squad which failed to bring stars David Ferrer, Rafael Nadal, Nicolas Almagro and Fernando Verdasco, with that group missing out for reasons varying from injury to disinterest.
Given the famous victory, which propelled Canada to this stage of the tournament for its first time ever, it’s unsurprising Laurendeau has maintained the same group of players, led by Milos Raonic (world No. 16), and supported by Daniel Nestor (doubles No. 5), Frank Dancevic (No. 189) and Vasek Pospisil (No. 129).
“It’s a new experience for us,” Laurendeau told reporters at the University of British Columbia at a press conference on Tuesday when asked about playing in the quarterfinal. “It’s an opportunity that we haven’t had ever. This team has come a long ways to get out of these tough situations and put themselves in a position where we have opportunities to play at this level against great teams.”
As is the standard format for this competition, the tie will be decided over five rubbers. Assuming Laurendeau sticks with the winning formula, Raonic and Dancevic will compete in the singles matches on Friday and Sunday, while Nestor and Pospisil will play in Saturday’s doubles match.
Italy isn’t as highly regarded as the Spanish, but has brought some competitive professionals which should make for a challenging tie.
World No. 19 Andreas Seppi is the star for that country, and as a team Simone Bolelli and Fabio Fognini are ranked No. 2 overall in the doubles category. The Italian team is rounded out by No. 59 Paolo Lorenzi.
Fognini, at rank 36, is also a capable singles player while Bolelli at No. 76 isn’t anything to sniff at on his own, although he’s unlikely to line up solo.
There is a chance Bolelli won’t be able to play at all – he has a wrist injury suffered at the Miami Masters tournament on Mar. 23. He’s been practicing and a decision will be made on his status later in the week.
Danielle Bracciali, a 35-year-old player ranked No. 23 in doubles, has joined up with the Italians to play doubles alongside Fognini if Bolelli doesn’t get over his injury in the next few days.
“They’re fairly comparable lineups,” Laurendeau said, referencing the similar level of quality between Italy and Spain. “They have a player in the top 20 and they have a really good doubles team, like Spain had. They have really good depth. They can play on hard courts, they’ve shown that before.
“But they’re favoured surface is probably the clay one, so they’re comparable in their styles of game and the depth of the players they have.”
Ultimately, the Canadians are still the underdogs here on paper, despite the rankings (Canada is ranked 8 to Italy’s 9), although the hard surface at UBC and the home advantage could tip the scales for Laurendeau’s team.
Raonic will be expected to win both of his singles matches – but even then, in the rankings Seppi is hardly miles away from him. That closeness in the rankings might not tell the whole story though – Raonic is 3-0 playing singles at UBC and seems to thrive with the responsibility of largely carrying Canada’s hopes.
“It’s a lot of fun for me to play here,” Raonic said. “I think the environment for the two ties we have played here has been pretty amazing. It’s been constant, it’s been very supportive, and it’s something I haven’t really had a chance to feel too many times on tour.”
Dancevic will likely have to win one of his singles matches by pulling out a similar performance which saw him bring down Marcel Granollers in February, or Nestor and Pospisil will have to pull off an almighty upset by bringing down one of the world’s top doubles teams.
Doubles has been a struggle for Canada in recent times, having lost its last three rubbers against France, South Africa and Spain, but Nestor talked up his team’s ability to push the Italians all the way.
“I think we’re playing fine,” Nestor said. “I think against Spain maybe we had some chances to win that match early, perhaps in four sets. In Montreal, I didn’t play well at all [against South Africa in the World Group playoff]. I wasn’t there mentally. And against France I think they played an exceptional match.
“I don’t think it’s our play too much. I don’t think we have to be worried about the way we’re playing, plus we’re playing on our home court – if we play well we should have a good chance.”