Dancevic, Nestor, Pospisil and Raonic set to represent Canada; Benneteau, Llodra, Monfils and Tsonga to play for France
** Please note: Canadian captain Martin Laurendeau will be available at Uniprix Stadium at 1 p.m. and for further comments upon request.
Toronto, January 31, 2012 –Tennis Canada announced Tuesday the Miele Canadian Davis Cup team nominated to compete in the upcoming Davis Cup by BNP Paribas World Group first-round tie between Canada and France.
Frank Dancevic (Niagara Falls, Ontario), Daniel Nestor (Toronto), Vasek Pospisil (Vancouver) and Milos Raonic (Thornhill, Ontario) were named to the squad by captain Martin Laurendeau to compete on indoor hard court at the Doug Mitchell Thunderbird Sports Centre in Vancouver from February 10-12, 2012. Peter Polansky (Thornhill, Ontario) will also be travelling to Vancouver with the team as a fifth player.
The French Tennis Federation also announced the team that will head to Vancouver to face-off against Canada. They selected doubles specialists Julien Benneteau and Michael Llodra, world No. 13 Gael Monfils and their top-ranked singles player, world No. 6 Jo-Wilfried Tsonga.
“I am very happy to be selecting these players for the upcoming Davis Cup tie,” said Laurendeau. “We are bringing our five most experienced guys with us but only four can be named to the team. However, they all relish the opportunity to play for and represent their country in this competition. France will obviously be a tough challenge with so many top players, but I believe in this group and their ability to rise to the occasion. We are a confident team after overcoming last year’s obstacles and there is a camaraderie and respect for one another that is essential for Davis Cup success. The World Group experience has been a long-time coming and we can’t wait to get to Vancouver and start our preparations for what is sure to be a great weekend of tennis.”
Dancevic has competed for Canada’s Davis Cup team every year since 2002 except in 2008 when he was hampered with a back injury. He holds an impressive 11-3 record in Davis Cup matches played on home soil. In 2011, he became the first player ever to qualify for all four Grand Slams in one year. He also advanced to the quarter-finals of the ATP World Tour event in Johannesburg. His career-high ranking is No. 65, achieved in 2007.
Nestor holds the record for most years played by a Canadian in Davis Cup at 19. He also holds the record for most wins (44), most doubles wins (29) and most ties played (40). Nestor is currently ranked No. 3 in the world in doubles and recently reached the semifinals of the Australian Open with his ATP World Tour partner Max Mirnyi. The duo also captured the title at Brisbane to start the year. Nestor holds 76 ATP World Tour doubles titles and holds a career Golden Slam (all four Grand Slam trophies and an Olympic Gold medal).
Pospisil was the only member of Canada’s Davis Cup team to compete at all three ties in 2011. He was the hero in their World Group play-off versus Israel, capturing both of his singles matches and the doubles match with Nestor to advance Canada back to the World Group. He had a breakout second-half to last season, defeating two Top 25 players at two separate events and qualifying for his first Grand Slam to reach the second round at the US Open. He improved his ranking more than 200 spots in 2011 to finish the year at No. 119.
Raonic is Canada’s highest-ranked male singles player in history, reaching a career-high of No. 25 during his breakout 2011 season. He reached the fourth round of the Australian Open as a qualifier then went on to win his first ATP World Tour title at San Jose and reach the Memphis final the following week. He helped Canada advance through their first-round Davis Cup tie against Mexico, winning two singles matches and the doubles rubber with Pospisil. So far in 2012 he has picked up where he left off, capturing his second ATP World Tour title at Chennai and reaching the third round of the Australian Open.
France holds a 1-0 advantage over Canada with the only meeting between the two teams being a 5-0 French victory in 1966. The winning team will move on to the World Group quarter-finals and will also be assured to keep their spot in the World Group for the following year. The losing nation will be forced to play a World Group play-off tie to keep their spot in the elite level for 2013. Canada last competed in the 16-country World Group in 2004.
Tickets for the event are completely sold out, but all the action will be broadcast live on Sportsnet and TVA with coverage beginning at 2 p.m. PT daily.
Davis Cup by BNP Paribas match schedule for Canada vs. France
(Pacific time)
Friday, February 10, 2012 2 p.m. Singles
Saturday, February 11, 2012 2 p.m. Doubles
Sunday, February 12, 2012 2 p.m. Reverse Singles
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