It was a promising start and a disappointing finish for Canada at the 2012 Davis Cup. Tied at one after Friday’s singles matches, Canadian tennis fans were hopeful the home team could pull off a major upset, over 4th ranked France.
Unfortunately for Canada, things went from bad on Saturday to worse on Sunday.
For the third match of the best of five series, Canadian captain Martin Laurendeau made a last minute change to the doubles line up, opting to replace struggling Vasek Pospisil with the hot hand of Milos Raonic. Canada’s dream pairing: Daniel Nestor, with 838 career wins and 76 titles – considered by many to be the greatest doubles player of all time – and Raonic, Canada’s rising star.
It didn’t work out the way Laurendeau planned.
Raonic and Nestor looked awkward together early and struggled to find chemistry throughout the match. Though the first two sets went to tie break, it was clear the French pairing of Julien Benneteau and Michael Llodra were the better team. France took the match 7-6, 7-6, 6-4. France 2, Canada 1.
Then things got worse.
Suffering from a sore knee all weekend long, Milos Raonic tweaked the injury during the first set of doubles play and was forced to pull out of the Sunday’s premier match against France number one Jo Wilfred Tsonga.
“It was just something I was dealing with the whole week, a little minor pain that elevated a little bit across the last two days of play, I just had to look at it realistically,” said Raonic.
“It just didn’t make sense to play, for myself and as a team effort; I don’t think I could have been much use, even at the end of the doubles I was struggling to move a little bit.”
With the Raonic injury, Canada went from massive underdog to astronomical dark horse.
Daniel Nestor and Milos Raonic face France's Julien Benneteau and Michael Llodra in Davis Cup play on Saturday.
Laurendeau was forced to throw out 178th ranked Frank Dancevic against the 6th ranked Tsonga. Dancevic played admirably well, considering the rankings disparity between the two players, but by the third set, Tsonga found his form, and quickly dispatched of Dancevic 6-4, 6-4, 6-1. With the France win, Canada was eliminated.
Canada must now look to next year, and to the young and improving Vasek Pospisil and Milos Raonic, in the hopes that the two can elevate their game and vault Canada from meaningless World Group fodder, to mid-tier tennis power.