Some liquid refreshment was clearly needed while waiting for the dead rubber between Gael Monfils and Vasek Pospisil to finish up. You can get SO parched watching tennis.

Thanks to our courtside spy, who chronicled the whole thing with amusement.

We’d make jokes about the French “magic potion,” here, but they kind of ran all the funny out of that one – if indeed it was ever there :-O

Rough column in the Province.

Vancouver Sun

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Milos Raonic injury, rival’s depth too much for Canada to overcome

What shoe did Cinderella leave behind at the ball?

Turns out it was the left one. By coincidence, an auto-graphed Milos Raonic tennis shoe, size 14 left, encased in a display box, was up for bids in a Tennis B.C. silent auction inside UBC’s Doug Mitchell Thunderbird Sports Centre.

But Canada’s top singles player wasn’t visible anywhere on the court Sunday, reduced to a spectator in the concluding Davis Cup singles matches between Canada and France.

Tony Gallagher: Fans cheated in Davis Cup tie

While you might be able to argue that nobody is at fault, anyone who had tickets to all three days of the Davis Cup tie this weekend has to have the feeling of being regally ripped off.

In part through the dominance of the French players and partly through injury that may have been forestalled with a more prudent choice than to send Milos Raonic into the doubles Saturday, Vancouver tennis fans didn’t even see a match that wasn’t won in straight sets.

And anyone with Sunday tickets may as well have used them to stop a door or raise an end table for all the entertainment they brought as Frank Dancevic was slaughtered in short order by Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, once he stopped laughing, and Gael Monfils walked through Vasek Pospisil in the mean-nothing filler.

Team Somalia might have lasted longer.

 Vancouver Province

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Dancevic can’t save Canada

The clash that had Canadian tennis fans salivating on Sunday morning never materialized.

Milos Raonic, Canada’s top player, pulled out of his hugely-anticipated Davis Cup World Group match against France’s Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, the world No. 6.

The announcement came an hour before the 2 p.m. match time at UBC’s Doug Mitchell Thunderbird Sports Centre: Raonic, No. 29, had a “minor knee injury”; Frank Dancevic, No. 178, would play in his place.

Injured Raonic has a title to defend in California

This tie shaped up as a tricky one, and in the end everything went well?

“Everything did go well and it’s true that we benefited from a little bit of help from destiny today, but we didn’t have much luck either, with Gaël’s injury. All teams are impacted by this kind of problem. Raonic, who played both singles and doubles, which is never easy, got his fingers burnt in the doubles which was at a very high level. Obviously, things were more simple for Jo to clinch it, against Dancevic. Generally, I’m very proud of the way they managed this tie, the preparation they did. Now, the quarter final is ahead, at home, and we don’t want to miss our chance.“

Any ideas about what surface you’ll host the United States on?

“We won’t make the mistake the Swiss may have made, playing at altitude. We’ll have to choose a medium surface. We talk a lot about clay. It’s a possibility but it’s not necessarily the only one. We haven’t consulted about it yet. But we must, in my opinion, chose a rather slow surface and absolutely avoid a high-bouncing one, because a player like John Isner is truly poisonous (under those circumstances). We’re absolutely determined to avoid the misadventure of the Swiss in Fribourg. Ideally, I’d say that outdoors would be better, but if we can’t find a spot to host us, we’ll have to play indoors. And the arenas likely to be about to host a tie of that magnitude, there aren’t tons of them in France.”

So the location hasn’t been decided?

“We’ve talked about Pau, but other cities are candidates. The Federation will meet with various leagues and cities. But in France, we’re always welcomed well. And then other cities might manifest themselves. For the moment, it’s anecdotal because we’re certain to have the people behind us. The most important is to know what players I’ll have available for the tie, and what kind of shape they’ll be in.”

Tsonga, from  L’Équipe

“I was a little surprised when Raonic pulled out, even a little sad because I really like that type of match. But let’s not kid ourselves, it was better for us. I just had to attack the match differently, which I did. I didn’t have time to get nervous, and ultimately it was pretty simple. Frank absolutely took every chance he could, but I could see that he was at 120% and that in the long run, my chances were good.

It’s the second time I’ve earned the deciding point for France, after the playoff in the Netherlands (in 2009). That time, I had cramps all over (he played three matches) and it took me two months to get over it. This time, it was a little easier. Now, it’s the U.S.  That’s super; I’ve not yet played a tie of that magnitude. And it will be at home; it’s been awhile since we’ve played there (Sept, 2010 semi-final against Argentina in Lyon). I think we’d be better off hosting them on clay.”

L’Équipe, on the clincher:

The last-minute withdrawal of Milos Raonic, with a knee injury, largely took the wind of the Canadian sails – already flat after the doubles defeat the previous day. No more leader, no more Tsonga-Raonic blockbuster, no more suspense?

We wouldn’t go so far as to say Jo-Wilfried Tsonga confirmed his status as the boss, by beating Pospisil (115th) and Dancevic (178th) in Vancouver, but the man from Le Mans did the job. Neatly. It’s never all that easy to go into a match that everyone assume 100% you will win.

Frank Dancevic, the surprise guest, had his moment of glory during the summer of 2007, when he reached the quarterfinals of the Masters 1000 in Montreal. Affected  (like Tsonga) by a herniated disc at the end of 2009, he has never truly found his level again. He definitely could have fallen into a depression after a nightmare start to the match, broken to start after a 10-minute game and quickly behind 4-0. But then, the 27-year-old Canadian resolutely decided to bravely take his chance, happy to play and to pump his fist. It didn’t threaten the French’s chances, but it certainly gave the fans at the Thunderbird Sports Centre some thrills, during an hour of tennis that was both scrappy and a little disheveled.

Dancevic dove, dared, played to the crowd – far more demonstrative than his colleagues, quite apathetic on the court this weekend. With aces, accelerations, audacious forays to the net, the Canadian got to a 4-3 lead in the second set. Tsonga sometimes had to smile at shots sometimes made on a wing and a prayer, sometimes breathtaking, often a surprise, before he put a definitive hand on the match.

Relaunched in combat mode, Big Jo, his serve (9 aces), his  huge forehands put the impetuous Canucks in his rear-view mirror. Dancevic would win just 15 points the rest of the match, completely outmatched by the Frenchman’s battering shots. He lost just two points on his serve in the third set.

The end of the tie came without emotion, sealing a French victory that wasn’t much in doubt since the day before.

It was almost painful to watch Dancevic, sitting on his chair abandoned by all. And the French joy was very subdued.

(Pics from AFP/Getty Images)

Vasek Pospisil:

“It was a really tough weekend, our opponents were tops in the world. But we enjoyed it; the crowd support was incredible. We tried our best and fought to the end, not much more we could have asked of ourselves.

Back to the drawing board: I’ll touch on my weapons again. I felt my best shots let me down a bit this week. Especially the first day. Played a bit better today. I’ll try to get them back to where they were even a couple of weeks ago.

On the next move: We need to forget about this and concentrate on th e next tie, bring the best out of our games and hope everyone’s healthy and again, do our best.”

Frank Dancevic:

“I was definitely the underdog going into today, obviously he’s playing some great tennis. I knew I had to basically go out there and give all I got, and any time I had an opportunity, go for my shots. I felt like I crated a few opportunities coming back in the first set. The crowd really got into it, got me back on track. I felt like I sort of got into his head a little bit, he was getting a little frustrated at the end of the first set, beginning of the second because he felt the crowd getting into it.

 The key to the match, at the beginning he started of really strong, got right on top of me, two breaks right away. I was sort of one step behind the whole match. I feel like if I could have held serve in the first one more time, it could have been a bit of a differe story. Maybe I could have taken the first set and maybe made it a bit of a different match.

The crowd was SO into it. I felt the energy out there and felt I had some momentum on my side.  I felt like anything could happen. Even though I lost the first set, going into the second set I felt like we were both making some great shots, playing some high-quality points. It came down to a few big shots by him on important points, especially in the second set. He painted the lines onn a few forehands, hit  some unbelievable down the line and cross-court   one-handed backhands. He did a great job of making those on big points today.”

As well, Dancevic talked about what the match could mean going forward:

“It’s really, really good to get into a match like today. You have to earn every single point you win [against Tsonga] and holding that high focus throughout the match I fully believe it’s going to help me, knowing I was hanging in there with a player who is five in the world.

“I’m really happy with my performance today and excited for the next couple of months.”

But it certainly didn’t play out like most expected, even if the end result was about right, with one huge caveat.

Fans arriving Sunday afternoon expecting to see top Canuck Milos Raonic play top Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga – a clash even Tsonga said he was looking forward to – were mightily disappointed.

Raonic pulled out, the knee issue he had been dealing with in a mild way through the week of practice having flared up overnight after he started feeling it shortly before the first-set tiebreaker in the doubles Saturday.

That left Frank Dancevic, just back in the Davis Cup family after a two-tie stretch where things got a little untidy, to come out and try to keep Canada alive.

He couldn’t do it. But he brought something to the weekend that had been missing, as welcoming and enthousiastic as the crowd was. He got them involved.

Dancevic lost, 6-4, 6-4, 6-1. But given he spotted Tsonga a 4-0 lead right out of the chute, it was two sets of entertaining, crowd-pleasing tennis that never quite seemed like it would be the first chapter of the Cinderella story, but nevertheless brought value in and of itself.

What the win by Tsonga did, though, was clinch the tie for the French. They will now host the U.S. in the World Group quarterfinals in April.

After the tie was clinched, French No. 2 Gaël Monfils graciously agreed to play the dead rubber against Canadian No. 2 Vasek Pospisil.

With the expected results:

He had been prepared to play a fifth rubber if necessary, and so was hopped up on pain killers and whatever he needed to do that. Plus, he wanted to test the knee out, in advance of next week’s tournament in San Jose. Monfils will play an exhibition Monday night, featuring John McEnroe, that was also to have included Raonic (he pulled out). His first-round singles match (after a bye) is only scheduled for Thursday night.

“I love to play a match like this, without pressure. We knew it was only two sets,” Monfils said.

Pospisil played better in this meaningless match. But he got an idea of just how much work he has to do as he lost 6-4, 6-4 to an opponent who played with the crowd, pulled out all his highlight-reel shots – and even fed Pospisil a second lob on one point after he failed to put away the first smash as he should have.

Not that we don’t like to do that, just for kicks, at the best of times. But in this case, it sprung from true belief.

The overwhelming opinion out there was that putting the big-serving Milos Raonic into the crucial doubles Saturday against France was an absolute no-brainer.

His big serve!, everyone said (with a few dissents). He’s a good doubles player! They have to do it!

On the flip side, the French media couldn’t understand why Forget didn’t seem inclined to put in their big banger, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, into the doubles on their side.

Here were a few arguments we sprung on people, in a vain attempt to sway them over to the Open Court way of thinking.

It’s not that there weren’t actually good reasons to do it, on the flip side. But we’ll get to that later.

But here’s why not.

*Singles isn’t doubles. While many singles player do well on the doubles court, just because they’re good players, they don’t beat true top doubles players all that often.

*It may seem as though Raonic is a good volleyer. But like many singles players, he hits most of them when he comes to the net behind a slam-dunk approach (in his case, a huge forehand), making the volley, if not quite a formality, something rather more routine. So it’s really hard to judge, from singles, whether he does in fact have the hands and instincts required to volley far more, in far more difficult situations.

*The big serve has become far less important than the return in the modern doubles game. And that remains Raonic’s big challenge, whether it’s in singles or doubles. Everyone serves big these days; and you can see it even in the modern formations. Most teams have both players back on first serve, precisely because the serves are so good, and it’s a matter of playing defence – not not getting brained at the net.

To put Milos Raonic in over Vasek Pospisil was a bad idea on paper, for a lot of reasons.

First of all, Pospisil is a better doubles player – a textbook serve-and-volleyer, comfortable with the notion, with good hands and instincts at the net. He always has been, going all the way back to his junior days when all the top guys fought to have him as a partner. Those who claimed Raonic was a good doubles player really didn’t have much empirical evidence at the ATP level to back it up. Certainly, he could be. Why not? But he hardly ever plays.

Pospisil has more experience with Daniel Nestor than Raonic did. Raonic and Nestor had played together only once, in Colombia on clay, against a team far inferior to the French, with far less experience together. Nestor and Pospisil had a pretty terrific win in Israel over Ram and Erlich, an experienced, accomplished team.

But more than that, it just seems like Nestor would be in a greater comfort zone with Pospisil. During his long career, Nestor has always played with textbook doubles guys: Knowles, Zimonjic, Mirnyi. He doesn’t often have to step out of his comfort zone, trying to compensate for a player who may not hold up his end at the net, knowing the opponents are going to aim every ball in his partner’s direction, forcing him try to poach more and get to more balls.

The fact that Raonic serves big isn’t a big factor; so does Nestor’s current partner  Minyi. So did his previous partner, Zimonjic.

*In doubles, chemistry counts for a lot.The best teams are better together than the sum of their parts individually. Raonic has become such a phlegmatic customer on court. Nestor has always been that way. The energy between them doesn’t flow naturally, and Nestor isn’t the kind of guy to be a “teacher’. Not that he couldn’t do it; he’s just never had to. His last two partnershave been the more emotional types – particularly Zimonjic, who’s a nut ball. They supply the energy; Nestor just does his job.

With Pospisil, a naturally more exuberant fellow, Nestor just has a slightly better mix. Perhaps he draws a little youthful vigor from it; maybe it’s far less deep than that.

*But the bottom line is that you would have been asking Raonic to go out in a huge situation and do what he has never done.

When you’re a baseliner, and you try to convert yourself into a doubles player for a few hours, it affects every single shot you try to hit.

-You’re used to serving and taking a step back; now you’re trying to hit every serve and push forward to the net to hit the volley you know will be coming to you.

-You’re playing the forehand side, so you can’t jump over and hit those great inside-out forehands you like, because it’s not your side of the court and, besides, there’s someone at the net ready to pick it off.

-You try to squeeze a forehand down the line, over the highest part of the net. It’s not your best shot. And there’s a guy there – a lefty, on top of that – waiting with the volley.

-You’re getting served to your backhand down the T. But instead of having room to execute the inside-out backhand without peril, you have a guy at the net. You can’t crunch a backhand over to the opponent’s backhand corner, because you’ve got a guy at the net standing in the way without having to take a step.

-Instead of hitting volleys after you’ve come in behind a huge forehand, you’re hitting volleys when you’re not even at the service line, after a bomb serve. You’re hitting 20 times more volleys than you’re used to: volleys when you’re standing at the net, on the backhand, sometimes two or three in a row, without the confidence or experience behind you.

Raonic’s doubles resumé

He played once this season, as a last-minute alternate with Pospisil. They gave Paes and Tipsarevic a tough battle in Chennai, but lost.

He played dubs in five ATP events last year. He and Robin Haase rolled over a fairly weak field on grass in Halle (winning two of their three matches in supertiebreaks). They very nearly pulled off the title before losing to Qureshi and Bopanna, a top-10 team, in another supertiebreaker.

That was the good stuff. In the other four events, Raonic lost in the first round: with Fetchin’ Feli Lopez against the Bryans in Indian Wells; with Almagro, to Gasquet and Ljubic – quickly – in Monte Carlo; again with Almagro – also quickly – to Dolgopolov and Malisse in Barcelona; and with Andujar in Tokyo, in a tough, close one against the Murray brothers.

There was that shining moment on Centre Court at the Rogers Cup in 2010, when he and fellow kid Pospisil took on those two big guys. But those were rather exceptional circumstances, hardly enough to bank on.

He doesn’t put emphasis on it. It’s not part of what he does. So to ask him to come up with a big one, under all those circumstances outlined above, was asking a whole lot.

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There were reasons to do it

The first big reason was that the Canadians are the underdogs.

When you don’t have too much of a chance on paper, sometimes you just have to roll the dice and go for it.

Singles doesn’t necessarily translate into doubles. But it can. And Raonic was so solid and impressive, with Benneteau on the other side of the net, in Friday’s singles that it could have had a carryover effect.

Certainly, on paper, Raonic is a more intimidating sight to see standing at the service line than Pospisil. Even though the French are veteran guys who’ve seen this before, it could have an effect.

But the biggest reason – and the one Laurendeau was understandably loath to say publicly – was that Pospisil has been having issues with his serving shoulder.

He was attended to briefly, a couple of times, during the match Friday against Jo-Wilfried Tsonga. But he didn’t have treatment on court. That said, he certainly didn’t serve well.

If you have a choice between a diminished Pospisil – whom you need to be at his very best in the case of a fifth and deciding doubles rubber against a tough opponent on Sunday, and you have to hope and plan for that possibility – and a healthy Raonic, maybe the decision isn’t all that tough to make after all.

So, Canada went for it. French captain Guy Forget, conversely, decided to stay with his established pair and not succumb to the temptation or pressure to sub in Tsonga.

That also was the right call: Tsonga has never played all three days in Davis Cup. His two wins with Llodra last year (vs. Germany and Spain) came when he hadn’t played the Friday singles. And he needs to be in full form for the Sunday showdown against Raonic, which was going to be live no matter what the result of the doubles.

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How it all went down

Well, it shook out pretty much as we had envisioned it, to paraphrase French captain Forget.

Raonic looked uncomfortable throughout, as the French tandem mercilessly peppered him at the net. He was forced to hit a lot of inside-out backhand volleys. But he was flat-footed. He didn’t turn his shoulders on those volleys; it was as though he wasn’t expecting it, every time.

He got better with it as the match went on. But it’s pretty tough to find “doubles chops” that you don’t really have, when the stakes are so high.

He also served poorly. No kidding.

Here’s Benneteau on that (from L’Équipe):

“Milos almost never serves and volleys in singles. So, in doubles, his serve isn’t the same. He loses percentage, and at the end, he even lost velocity. Instead of 220 km/h, it was 205 km/h. That changes everything.”

As well, Benneteau said he had already suffered the bombardment on Friday, but at least it allowed him some more experience in reading Raonic’s serve. And it showed. Llodra has faced Raonic a ton of times in singles. Neither Llodra or Benneteau would have had a bead on Pospisil’s serve.

Nestor clearly felt the pressure to out-do himself, given the barrage his partner was facing at the net. He went way out of position to try to poach at times, trying to make something happen, but without really knowing if Raonic was going to react behind him to cover.

He had some second-serve returns in the early going, crucial ones. But he missed them badly, perhaps because, unlike with his regular partner, he felt he had to make them just that much better, clear winners, without the confidence of experience that Raonic would be ready to pick off the next ball at the net if it came back.

Meanwhile, the French team played a nearly perfect match.

The thing many didn’t take into consideration in this scenario is how good a team Benneteau and Llodra are. They’re the same age and have known each other forever. They are good mates. They are experienced partners.

Here are some of their scalps together, before Llodra hooked up with Zimonjic in 2011:
-Melzer and Marach of Austria (a singles and doubles specialist combo much like Raonic and Nestor) last March in Davis Cup.
-Nieminen/Soderling, Dlouhy/Paes, reigning Wimbledon champs Melzer/Petschner, and Cermak/Mertinak before losing to the Bryan brothers in the Rogers Cup final in 2010.
-Lopez and Verdasco (when they weren’t sucking together) in Davis Cup in 2010.
-Quarter-finals of Wimbledon in 2010 (we thought they were going to win the thing, but Llodra was kinda injured).
-semifinals of Queen’s in 2010.
-Bopanna and Qureshi at the 2010 French Open.
-Champions (over the Bryans in the final) in Las Vegas in 2008.

And there’s no doubt that they went on court on a mission, hearing the whispers that Forget should put in Tsonga and determined to prove that they deserved to be there.

Despite that, the scorelines in the first two sets were so tight, until the French played two great tiebreaks and the Canadians … didn’t. They turned on very little, as doubles will usually do. Yet, somehow, it just didn’t SEEM all that close, for some reason. The Canucks seemed to mostly be just surviving, always pulling from behind. That’s an overall impression, not a specific one.

Here’s what captain Forget said:

“I told them before the match that it would  hinge on the little details, and that’s what happened. A set can last an hour, and in the space of a minute, it’s won or lost … What pleased me was that they were very alive, with very good communication between them. They were always moving, jumping up and down, to be ready in the crucial moments. And that’s how you get to making two or three good returns in tiebreaks. The attitude really was very good. With a rather sluggish pair in front of them, maybe that’s what makes the difference when it comes down to a roll of the dice. It’s not by chance.”

Here’s what Captain Laurendeau said about making the call:

“We debated for a few hours, the options, and we said, from the beginning, we were going to wait to see how Friday unfolds.  had two potentially good doubles teams, and that was a good thing for us. In the end . . . Milos has had such a great start to the year. He’s playing really well, and he demonstrated that yesterday [Friday]. It was more about Milos having the momentum. It was about Milos feeling it. When he’s on a roll, you want to keep it going.”

What Laurendeau didn’t say – certainly you don’t want to fuel the French fire – is that Pospisil likely isn’t in top shape. That had to be part of the debate, because Laurendeau is an experienced guy. We hope there wasn’t a gang of 10 making the call on this, because group decisions can be dodgy. But this is Tennis Canada. They probably even called Bob Brett for his input.

“It’s definitely challenging [to play with Raonic for only the second time]. But I don’t think that was the issue. It was the execution. We could have returned better, and we both could have put more first serves in. Those guys . . . they were just hitting the ball better. They were playing outstanding as a team. They were just making their shots. And, for whatever reason, we weren’t as sharp as they were.”

French foil Canucks in dubs

“I’ve gathered, over the last year and a bit, some top 10 wins,” Raonic said. “I’ve been in that situation before. It’s nothing new. I know that I can beat them, playing within myself. I have to play good tennis. But I don’t have to be amazing. I’m not going out there looking for anything out of reach. I just have to go out there, do my job, execute well, dictate the game, and, hopefully, things turn out well.”

Vancouver Province

Tony Gallagher: Should they have played Raonic?

Canadian Davis Cup captain Martin Laurendeau probably won’t get hammered for his decision to go with Milos Raonic instead of Vasek Pospisil in Saturday’s doubles competition but that hardly seems right after a move that may have throttled any chance Canada had to win this Davis Cup tie.

Toronto Star

Writer  Frédéric BERNES  is pretty rough on Pospisil in this one:

Walk in the park for Tsonga

He had to have dreamed it a hundred times. And you can be sure that every time, it never turned out like this. Vasek Pospisil, the little guy from Vancouver, took it on the chin in front of his whole family, his pals, his old teacher and maybe even the assistant mayor. Even from high above the Thunderbird Sports Centre, we clearly saw the 109 spots separating Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, No. 6, and the No. 2 Canadian, No. 115.

Hero of last year’s playoff tie against Israel, Pospisil was too light, too tender, to create the merest shadow of a doubt in Tsonga’s head – or that of the assistant mayor. Mostly, he made too many mistakes in the rallies (36 unforced errors in all). Huge ones. Awful ones. Ones that hurt the eyes. Hence, the five games in a row from 1-1 in the first set.

“I wanted to put pressure on him right away. Come into the match with guns blazing. And I did it well. I’m sixth in the world, you also have to use that,” Tsonga said.

Despite the obstinate coaching of personal coach Frédéric Niemeyer, who even passed along a few hastily-scribbled notes, Pospisil couldn’t cause Tsonga any problems. Except at 2-2 in the second set when – miracle – a break point gave him hope. Fifteen seconds on the clock, the time for the French No. 1 to chase it away with a masterful response to a good drop volley by the Canadian. The one-way match could then carry on.

It was undoubtedly the least complicated match Tsonga has ever had to play in Davis Cup (only Rafael Nadal has ever beaten him). Even against Jesse Huta Galung of the Netherlands, during the playoff tie in 2009, he had more trouble.

“If they need me for the doubles, I’m ready. No problem,” Tsonga said. “Vasek still has work to do. He can improve his first-serve percentage. He can do everything better.”

There will surely be someone kind enough to tell Pospisil, 21, that it’s part of learning the craft. They’d better, because the boy is supposed to play doubles, with the ancient Nestor. And since he serves quite well (his second serve is particularly good), and returns not bad, you’d have to think he’ll come out of it better.

Benneteau psyched for dubs, but …

While awaiting Sunday, with the tasty prospect of Tsonga-Raonic, the French team has much to gain by winning the doubles Saturday night. After his loss, Julien Benneteau wasn’t particularly defeated, and saw himself answering the ball.

“I really, really would like to be with Mika (Llodra). We made a great team,” he said.

To be continued. The possibility that Tsonga, who won twice last year with Llodra (in Germany and Spain) lines up with him again cannot be dismissed. On the Canadian side, a last-minute change also can’t be ruled out. Announced with Nestor, Pospisil seemed pretty outmatched Friday during his singles, and could give up his spot to Raonic – implacable on serve, who didn’t burn a lot of energy during the first match.

The automatisms of Pospisil, or the great confidence of Raonic?

“It’s possible there might be a change,” was all Canadian captain Martin Laurendeau would say.

Captain Forget, on various things

Could Benneteau have done better?

“Raonic served so well, that Julien spent the entire match under pressure. When a guy performs such a monologue on serve, the least break point against you is a set point. That’s why, at the end of the sets, Julien did two or three goofy things. He was dominated by a guy in a state of grace, who was faultless in his offensive game.

We knew Raonic was dangerous. If he hadn’t had surgery last year, he would be top 10 today.”

What did you think of Tsonga’s romp?

“Jo changed a little something in his stringing and no doubt that helped him. I think he was strong, and I think he can rise to Raonic’s level on Sunday.”

Were you tempted to have Tsonga play doubles with Llodra?

“Basically, no. That said, nothing’s off the table. Yo’ll be surprised. With Nestor and Llodra, there will be two super specialists in that doubles. Maybe it’s their partners who will make the difference. I see tiebreaks in that match. It’s going to be very spectacular.”

The only time Tsonga played three matches in Davis Cup was in Maastricht in 2009. After that, he said, ‘Never again!’

“Yes, it’s true that it’s hard to go back-to-back. But maybe he’s changed his mind since then …“

When you saw how Raonic served and returned, we wonder how Canada could not play him in doubles…

“The Canadian captain might want to keep him as fresh as possible. If Raonic plays, between him and Nestor, they’re going to be tough to break. The next two points (the doubles and Tsonga-Raonic) are going to be a battle. But we were prepared for that.”

(Pics used with permission of the French Tennis Federation. For lots more from the weekend’s tie, visit their Facebook page).

(Both newspapers are part of our happy Postmedia family)

Vancouver Province

Pospisil routined in opener

Vasek Pospisil couldn’t channel Daniel Nestor circa 1992.

As Davis Cup tennis returned to Vancouver for the first time in 20 years on Friday, there was no shocking upset on opening day, like when Nestor beat world No. 1 Stefan Edberg at the Agrodome.

Instead, at UBC’s Doug Mitchell Thunderbird Sports Centre, it was a routine win for world No. 6 Jo-Wilfried Tsonga.

Raonic evens it up:

“I kept a really good flat line, not only my physical (game) but also my mental,” said Raonic.

“He played better today than three months ago,” Benneteau said. “He served very well today (but) he was very strong on the return and didn’t give me some free points. He was very aggressive, very strong with his forehand, he didn’t miss a lot.”

Columnist Tony Gallagher, on hometown boy Pospisil (before Friday’s first rubber):

“Nobody expected the kid to do what he did (in Israel). Pospisil succeeded beyond his and Canada’s wildest dreams and now you fast-forward to Vancouver where the country is back in the world group and the kid is facing Jo-Willy Tsonga right out of the gate, first match.

That puts so much pressure on both Canadian players it’s almost hard to imagine how either is going to handle it. While it’s true nobody expects Pospisil to beat the French No. 1 – and playing in the first match is definitely to his physical advantage given the fact he’ll be off the court by 6 p.m. so he can rest for Saturday’s doubles – facing a meat grinder like that is not likely to be a pleasant experience.”

Gallagher, after the loss.

“There was only really one world class player on court in match one as the young Canadian had only his first serve as a way to hurt Tsonga. But he wasn’t razor sharp and once the athletic Frenchman began to find his range blocking Pospisil’s big ones back and dumping them deep onto the baseline, the Canadian simply had no way to hurt him.”

Vancouver Sun

Cam Cole: Tennis tie, well, tied after Raonic win

Because of the time zone, nearly everything was done by the time Vasek Pospisil and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga took the court in Vancouver.

Crazy stuff – not the least of which was the 2-0 lead the Americans had over Roger Federer and the Swiss after the day was done.

Here’s a roundup of the action all over the Davis Cup planet.

Not American captain Jim Courier.

Is he trying to be the Tom Landry or John McGraw of tennis?

Courier puts on the suit and tie – defying the rule you learned as a kid to never wear dress shoes on a clay court.

But hey, he’s JIM!

What do you think?

FRIDAY RESULTS:
1. #1 Jurgen MELZER (AUT) def. #2 Igor KUNITSYN (RUS) 62 67 (3) 64 36 61

2. #2 Andreas HAIDER-MAURER (AUT) def. #1 Alex BOGOMOLOV Jr. (RUS) 61 64 67 (1) 62

SATURDAY RESULTS:
3. Nikolay DAVYDENKO / Mikhail YOUZHNY (RUS) def. Oliver MARACH / Alexander PEYA (AUT) 76 (1) 67 (7) 75 36 64

SUNDAY RESULTS:
4. #1 Jurgen MELZER (AUT) def. #1 Alex BOGOMOLOV Jr. (RUS) 62 64 61 ****Clincher****
5. #2 Igor KUNITSYN (RUS) def. #2 Andreas HAIDER-MAURER (AUT) 64 46 76 (4)

**********

PREVIEW

This one has some intrigue, even though the Russians obviously can count on two solid singles players (or even three, when you think about it).

It marks the debut of Alex Bogomolov Jr. as a Russian, after being an American citizen and returning to the motherland under a barrage of criticism for somehow being “ungrateful” to the USTA for all of the money they allegedly invested in his development.

Seriously, wouldn’t you do this, going from not being on the Davis Cup radar in your adopted country to being the No. 1 player for your new nation?

The man is Tweeting like a maniac. And you probably won’t find a happier man around this week. He’s just over the moon. He also, as it happens, even though he’s 28, is the youngest member of his new squad.

Russia has chosen Igor Kunitsyn over Davydenko for the second singles – and Youzhny, who just won in Zagreb, isn’t playing singles at all. Hmmmm. Then again, we’re talking about Shamil Tarpischev, here. Seriously doubt that’s the end of it.

Then again, they probably don’t need Youzhny.

Austria really only has one dangerous singles player, and that’s Melzer.

But anything can happen; they are at home.

(Pics and graphic from the Davis Cup web site. For more info in this tie, click here).

***Thinking Tipsy just was merciful on this kid because of the last name ***

#2 Viktor TROICKI (SRB)

64 63 57 63

SATURDAY RESULTS:
3. Johan BRUNSTROM / Robert LINDSTEDT (SWE) def. Janko TIPSAREVIC / Nenad ZIMONJIC (SRB)  36 63 76 (4) 67 (3) 10-8 ***Over four hours, and the Swedes at least make the first Sunday rubber meaningful. Hell of an effort.***

SUNDAY RESULTS:
4. #1 Janko TIPSAREVIC (SRB) def. #1 Michael RYDERSTEDT (SWE) 62 76 (5) 75 ***Clincher*****
5. Viktor TROICKI Dusan LAJOVIC (SRB) def. #2 Filip PRPIC (SWE) 64 64

***********

PREVIEW

The tie obviously loses a lot of lustre, even though it’s a Serb home tie, with the absence of Novak Djokovic.

They’re not even holding it in the big arena in Belgrade, rather, they’ve headed out to Nis, about 250 kilometres south-eastish.

But when you look at what Sweden is bringing, not only do they not need Djokovic, they could probably do without Janko Tipsarevic as well. It’s sad, when you consider Sweden’s fine tennis history.

Their No. 2 singles player, Filip Prpic, is a 19-year-old ranked No. 1426 (he also looks about five feet tall – officially 5-8).

Their number one is ranked No. 348.

How close was retired captain Thomas Enqvist to putting on the shorts?

As it is, maybe they can get him in on Sunday to play one of the dead rubbers.

(Pics and graphic from the Davis Cup web site. For more info in this tie, click here).

#2 Go SOEDA (JPN)

SATURDAY RESULTS:
3. Ivo KARLOVIC / Lovro ZOVKO Ivan DODIG (CRO) def. Tatsuma ITO / Yuichi SUGITA (JPN) 64 64 36 63

SUNDAY RESULTS:
4. #1 Kei NISHIKORI (JPN) def. #1 Ivan DODIG (CRO) 75 76 (4) 63

5. #2 Ivo KARLOVIC (CRO) def #2 Go SOEDA (JPN) 76 (4) 61 64

***************

PREVIEW

The Croats are missing Marin Cilic, still MIA. And Ivan Ljubicic. But despite some good results by Soeda and Ito of late, the Croats have a far stronger lineup and should take this one – on paper. The Japanese have all started 2012 with tremendous confidence, and so … watch out.

The Japanese haven’t been back in the World Group for a dog’s age, so they’ll be PUMPED.

They’re playing in the best-named stadium around, the Bourbon Beans Dome, which proved quite lucky for the Japanese’s female counterparts in Fed Cup last weekend vs. Slovenia.

In an interesting twist that hasn’t gotten a lot of play, Dominika Cibulkova coach Zeljko Krajan is the new Croatian Davis Cup captain. Interesting choice, given what he’s been doing the last few years – coaching on the women’s Tour with Cibulkova and, before that, Dinara Safina.

Also interesting that the new rankings have Ivo Karlovic (at No. 43) ahead of Ivan Dodig (at No. 55). But Karlovic gets to play No. 2.

(Krajan pic from Open Court. Team pic from the Davis Cup web site. For all the info on this tie, click here).

#1 Tomas BERDYCH (CZE)

63 46 75 62

SATURDAY RESULTS:
3. Frantisek CERMAK / Lukas ROSOL (CZE) Radek STEPANEK /Tomas BERDYCH (CZE)  def. Daniele BRACCIALI / Potito STARACE (ITA) 63 64 62

SUNDAY RESULTS:
4. Lukas ROSOL (CZE) Tomas BERDYCH (CZE) def. #1 Andreas SEPPI (ITA) 46 63 64
5. #2 Simone BOLELLI (ITA) def. Frantisek CERMAK (CZE) Radek STEPANEK 64 64

*************

PREVIEW

Both teams have all their munitions, which means the Czechs, playing at home, have a clear advantage even if they probably won’t win the doubles.

The Italians win the hair battle, though – in a walkover.

Head-to-head history between the two squads is Czechs 7, Italians 3. That history goes all the way back to 1928; the thing is, the most recent one was in 1995.

The mulleted one, Jaroslav Navratil, continues as the Czech Davis Cup captain.

(Team pic from the Davis Cup web site; for more info on this tie, click here).

FRIDAY RESULTS:
1. #1 Juan MONACO (ARG) def. #2 Philipp PETZSCHNER (GER) 63 63 63

2.  #2 David NALBANDIAN (ARG) def. #1 Florian MAYER (GER)  26 60 61 76 (5)

SATURDAY RESULTS:
3.  David NALBANDIAN Juan Ignacio CHELA  / Eduardo SCHWANK (ARG) def. Tommy HAAS / Philipp PETZSCHNER (GER) 36 46 64 63 64

SUNDAY RESULTS:
4. Juan MONACO (ARG) Juan Ignacio CHELA  def. #1 Florian MAYER (GER) 75 75
5. Philipp PETZSCHNER  Cedrik-Marcel STEBE (GER) def. #2 David NALBANDIAN Eduardo SCHWANK (ARG) 76 (1) 75

The Argentines are missing No. 1 Juan Martin del Potro who, like many top players, has opted to skip the tie in an Olympic, jam-packed year.

The Germans are missing Philipp Kohlschreiber, who has been playing good ball but who turned up sick as a dog this week.

The choice of an indoor court is an intriguing one, given the Argentine’s proficiency on that surface. Florian Mayer, who has been dogged by injuries so far this season, is a good clay-court player; we’d argue that the multi-faceted Philipp Petzschner, the Wimbledon doubles champion who isn’t averse to the serve and volley, is probably a better hard-court player.

The Germans also have repatriated Tommy Haas, who hadn’t played Davis Cup since 2007 when he became an American for a brief period. He’s scheduled for the doubles.

It’s a long trip to Germany from Chile, where Juan Monaco won his first ATP Tour title in 4 1/2 years on Sunday.

(Pics and graphic from the Davis Cup web site. For more info on this tie, click here).

But other Canadians sprinkle the globe this week, in search of points and prize money.

(Players still alive in red)

Dow Corning Tennis Classic (Midland, MI $100K women)

Gail Brodsky (USA) def [5] Stéphanie Dubois (CAN) (Singles, second round)

Gabriela Dabrowski (CAN) / Jessica Pegula (USA) def. Alexandra Mueller / Yasmin Schnack (USA) 64 60 (Doubles, first round)
Next opponents:

Rebecca Marino, who had planned to play Midland and would have been the No. 3 seed, is still M.I.A. She also missed Fed Cup last week in Brazil (personal reasons)

Dabrowski lost to American veteran Lindsay Lee-Waters, 6-2 in the third, in the second round of singles qualifying.

VI Copa Bionaire (Cali, Colombia, $100K women)

Alexandra Dulgheru (ROU) def. Sharon Fichman (CAN) 62 60 (Singles, first round)

Karin Knapp (ITA) / Mandy Minella (LUX)  def [2] Sharon Fichman (CAN) / Sheng-Nan Sun (CHN) 62 62 (Doubles, semifinals)

YP Challenger of Dallas ($100K men)

Denis Kudla (USA) def. Pierre-Ludovic Duclos (CAN) 76 (4) 36 75 (Singles, first round)

Mark Knowles (BAH) / Robert Kendrick (USA) def. [1] Carsten Ball (AUS) / Adil Shamasdin (CAN)46 75 [11-9] (Doubles, quarterfinal)

C Eaton / D Inglot (GBR) def [3] Pierre-Ludovic Duclos (CAN) / Andre Begemann (GER) 76 (4) 75 (Doubles, quarterfinals)

Caloundra International ($50K men)

[7] Marinko Matosevic (AUS) def Erik Chvojka (CAN) 64 62 (Singles, second round)

[1] Jean-Paul Fruttero (USA) / Raven Klaasen (RSA) def. Erik Chvojka (CAN) / Adam Hubble (AUS)  36 62 [10-6]  (Doubles, quarterfinal)

Childhelp Desert Classic (Rancho Mirage, CA, $25K women)

Heidi el Tabakh (CAN) def. [WC] Christina Makarova (USA) 63 64
Next opponent: [8] Lauren Davis (USA) (Singles, second round)

For Canada: Milos Raonic, Vasek Pospisil, Daniel Nestor and … Frank Dancevic.

For France: Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, Gaël Monfils, the Magnificent ™ Michael Llodra and  Julien Benneteau.

And the only surprise was the return of Niagara Falls’s Dancevic to the Davis Cup fold.

But if you read Open Court (and followed the stories from the Australian Open in the Gazette), you already know that Dancevic was welcomed back by captain Martin Laurendeau in anticipation of the team’s big challenge against France.

The 27-year-old hasn’t played much tennis the last few months; he kicked off his 2012 campaign at a Challenger in Heilbronn, Germany just last week, losing in the second round to lefty Michael Berrer of Germany. And he lost in the first round of qualifying at the ATP event in Zagreb, Croatia over the weekend to Daniel Evans of Great Britain.

It was a pretty doable draw; Evans ended up winning two more matches to qualify, so it’s too bad Dancevic wasn’t able to get through that first one.

Peter Polansky is the fifth member of the Canadian squad, with countryman Milan Pokrojac along as a practice partner. He’s a lefty, so will be used for doubles prep to simulate the Magnificent one (as if anyone could).

Pospisil also was in Heilbronn, where he won two matches before losing 7-6, 6-3 to Ruben Bemelmans of Belgium in the quarterfinals. He lost in the first round of the Montpellier main draw to French wild card Guillaume Rufin (not a good loss, but Pospisil no doubt was itching to get home to Vancouver and get psyched for the tie).

As for Polansky, he looked great through the first two rounds of Australian Open qualifying, but then just played terribly in losing to the speedy Danai Udomchoke of Thailand in the final round. He went to a Challenger in Honolulu right after that, beat American Michael McClune in the first round, but bowed to Tatsuma Ito of Japan in his next match – 6-0 in the third set.

You’d think the two singles players will be Pospisil and Raonic. But it’s hard to say for sure; Pospisil is the very best option for doubles with Daniel Nestor, and on the first day, either Pospisil (or Polansky), as No. 2, would have to face Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, the French No. 1.

Canada probably isn’t going to beat France straight up, if the French squad is completely healthy. The best case scenario would be for Milos Raonic to win both his singles matches, and to take the doubles. It will be  fascinating to see how Laurendeau, who doesn’t strike us as much of a “roll the dice” type guy, plays this one. No doubt his mind has been rolling the possible scenarios around for quite awhile already.

As for the French, they’re bringing their very best elements. The two singles players are a top-shelf in Tsonga and Monfils (who did have injury issues in Australia). And they LOOOOOOOVE the speedy hard court the Canadians will have in Vancouver.

Llodra’s best surface as a singles player is, well, the faster the better. But his role will be in doubles. And he and Benneteau have lots of experience playing together. They could also put Tsonga into the doubles if they need to; if the big man played more, he’d be among the best – those who saw him pair up with Stan Wawrinka at the Rogers Cup last summer will back up that assertion.

(Open Court pics)

So naturally, after the Magnificent Michaël Llodra™ played Canadian Milos Raonic, the question of the upcoming Davis Cup tie between the two nations came up.

Raonic’s quotes were in English, translated back to French, and back to English again. So apologies if it’s not 100 percent perfect).

On Davis Cup:

“There are too many French in Quebec (he said jokingly). It wouldn’t be malin (shrewd, cunning) to pick that city … Since Toronto already has its big tournament, I suggested Vancouver, where there’s a Challenger with great supporters. The ideal would be the hockey arena. It’s huge. But to free it up for 10 days for tennis isn’t an easy thing.”

On his comeback:

“It’s normal. I don’t expect myself to play really well yet. I just want to find a way to win anyway. Not playing, I’ve lost some instinct. I also don’t have the same agility I had before the surgery. But that will come back.”

Llodra, on Davis Cup:

“(The Canadians) know that with the Montpellier tournament (the week before Davis Cup), we’re in a bitch of a situation. And they’re quite right to take maximum advantage. A nine-hour time difference instead of six (in Montreal), four more hours of flight time, it’s no longer the same story. I’d do the same thing in their place. I’d even go to Alaska.”

“In my opinion, all the players selected shouldn’t play in Montpellier. It’s tough for the tournament, I realize, but we can win Montpellier every year; Davis Cup, where we have a very interesting draw next year, is another thing. But I respect those who want to win Montpellier or take their guarantee. It would be good for the players to get together in Bercy to say things face to face. I know that some guys have already signed with Montpellier; I haven’t signed anything.”

Llodra, on Raonic:

“He started returning better and better, and serving really well. He also stopped butchering mid-court forehands.”

If all else fails, Llodra can always resort to his favorite trick to distract the Canadians:

(Open Court pics; quotes translated from L’Équipe story)

It would have the loudest and most supportive crowds, the best atmosphere and the most intensive media interest. Plus, the infrastructure here is already well in place.

But Montreal might not give the underdog Canadian squad the best winning conditions to upset one of the sport’s powerhouse nations.

And so, to the extreme disappointment of tennis fans in this city who packed Uniprix Stadium in record numbers for the Rogers Cup last month, Montreal likely won’t get the nod.

“Presently, it’s advantage, Vancouver,” Rogers Cup tournament director and Tennis Canada vice-president Eugene Lapierre said Wednesday.

“It’s a little tricky. I would rather organize it here; it would be quite a show. Just looking at the business side, it would be fantastic to have it in Montreal. But I think it’s between having a big show and a big commercial and promotional success, or having the best chance to win,” Lapierre said. “If we think we have a chance to win, the players and the coaches will want to look at all the details.”

The Canadian players know how much the French players love playing here.

In additon to the commonality of language, it’s almost like a little piece of home for them in the starkly Americanized landscape on this side of the Atlantic,

They also enjoy plenty of fan support.

It’s not, as so many fans outside Quebec posited today, because French-speaking Quebecers would support les Bleus over anglophone Canadians. Would fans in the French-speaking part of Belgium support France over Kim Clijsters, who hails from the Flemish part of the country? Of course not.

It’s more, as Lapierre pointed out, that there are a ton of French expatriates living here. They would come out in droves, wearing every piece of blue they own.

Montreal also is a relatively quick trip from Paris – especially compared to Vancouver, which is a 15-hour ordeal with a stopover. The French players will be far more jet-lagged going out there; with the turnaround already quick after the long trip to Australia to start the 2012 season, every little bit makes a difference.

If it makes Montreal fans feel any better, Toronto apparently came way down the list when the players were asked for their input.

Tennis players have long memories. Some won’t ever forget the World Group home playoff tie in Sept. 2005, when the Canadians faced exactly the same scenario they had last weekend in Israel.

They came into the final Sunday leading 2-1, needing just one match win to earn a promotion to the World Group.

Frank Dancevic lost a five-set heartbreaker to Max Mirnyi to knot the tie at 2-2. But it wasn’t over; Fred Niemeyer had a legitimate shot to get the job done against Vladimir Voltchkov, a similarly ranked player, in the fifth and final rubber.

The fans, who had only half-filled Toronto’s Rexall Centre on a somewhat dodgy weather day, numbered only a few hundred for Niemeyer’s match.

That early Sunday evening Toronto traffic is a beast, don’t you know.

Niemeyer lost in four sets; the Canadians were back in the Americas zone for 2006. It has taken them five long years to get back.

Lapierre said the decision on the city and venue would be made quickly, likely within two weeks.

If Vancouver is indeed selected, there are challenges. It won’t have the team in place, or the ticket base Montreal already has long established.  They also won’t get the same media presence there, especially during hockey season. And the Pacific time zone doesn’t do anyone any favours in the huge populated Eastern part of the country.

“We don’t want to wait to put the tickets on sale. We’d be starting from scratch with promotion, and it would be more complicated,” Lapierre said. “But I think there will be a great response.”

The biggest issue, obviously, is finding a suitable venue that’s available that entire week, that’s the right size, fits all of the ITF’s specifications, and doesn’t cost an arm and a leg. That’s always the challenge with Davis Cup, given typically countries have short lead times because if they don’t know, until they win or lose a round, if they’ll play, who they’ll play and whether they’re home or away.

The nearly-new arena where the UBC hockey Thunderbirds play looks to be about the right size. But it’s booked for two hockey games that weekend.

Even this guy weighed in:

(That is Milos Raonic’s coach. Who is a Spaniard. And not actually playing. Or Canadian. And yet to see his Canadian charge play a tournament in Canada, anywhere. But I guess everyone can have an opinion )

At least with the first round, they have three months before the specs have to be in to the ITF (80 days before the tie, according to the official rule book).

They’ll also have to work quickly on ticket sales. If there are any available, the French will snap them up.

Lapierre points to the last tie France played in Serbia, where he was told the French Federation underwrote junkets for French fans for a pittance, airfare and tix included. We’re talking a serious pittance; a nominal sum.

They came out in a huge group in the bullring in Cordobá last weekend for the tie against Spain, too. And they’re loud.

Every little bit helps; and if the Canadian fans sell out the place in a hurry, they’ll only have to release the minimum number of tickets to the visiting nation. As well, the extra-long trip from France might dissuade some as well. Always minimize the power of the Bleu if you can

Lapierre said they would have looked at a venue with a 7,000-8,000 seating capacity in Montreal; in Vancouver, he said 5,000-6,000 would probably be about right.

He also said Tennis Canada was in the process of replacing the well-worn Taraflex indoor carpet surface that has been trotted around the country for years.

The leader in that clubhouse is the Premier court used for the ATP Tour event in San Jose, California – the ultra-quick surface on which No. 1 Canadian Milos Raonic won his first career ATP Tour title last February. Presumably, it would be used for this tie.

And there’s another advantage for the players. Raonic will have to defend a title for the first time in his young career in San Jose, and that tournament begins the day after the Davis Cup tie ends. Hopefully, by then, the rising Vasek Pospisil (who no doubt wouldn’t mind a real “home” tie one bit, given his friends and parents haven’t been able to see any of his great moments the last month or so), will be ranked high enough by then to play that event.

They’ll already be on the West Coast: no jet lag and cross-country trip after what could be the longest, most exhausting and heavily emotional week of their young careers.

But again, nothing is yet carved in stone.

If Vancouver is chosen, all of the logical reasons probably won’t assuage fans here who would have loved – and deserved – to see Raonic, Pospisil, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Gael Monfils in action.

But if the Canadians pull off the upset, all might – MIGHT – be forgiven.

At least Vancouver is a great tennis town. So many people there play the game, and they support a charming men’s and women’s Challenger tournament every August.

Vancouverites don’t have the Rogers Cup to look forward to every year; diehards there head down to Indian Wells, California every winter just to see top-level tennis.

So it’s hard to begrudge them.

And, as Lapierre said Wednesday, “hopefully, there will be many more ties to come.”

(This column, in slightly abridged form, will appear in Wednesday’s Gazette)

Canada, for the first time since 2004, was most interested in the outcome.

And the winner is …

France.

At home.

(Open Court called it. On record. Unfortunately there was no money in it).

Here’s the entire World Group draw for the first round, to be held Feb. 10-12, 2012.

*Kazakhstan at Spain
*Russia at Austria
*France at Canada
*U.S.A. at Switzerland
*Italy at Czech Republic
*Sweden at Serbia
*Croatia at Japan
*Argentina at Germany

In all, five out of the eight unseeded teams got home ties.

Now, the search for a city and venue begins.

As a helpful aside, The Canadiens play at the Bell Centre on Tuesday, Feb. 7 vs. Pittsburgh, but don’t come back until Monday night, the 13th, vs. Caroline (they’re in Toronto on the weekend).

Nothing is yet booked into the Bell Centre during that period, according to the evenko site.

But that’s probably overreaching a little bit.

The minimum seating capacity for a World Group tie, according to the 2011 Davis Cup rulebook, is 4,000 seats.

That would mean a venue like the Maurice Richard Arena could qualify, if all the other venue standards are met (the seats there might not be cushy enough for the ITF’s mucky-mucks, though).

They must, of of course, ensure “priority seating arrangements for “all VIPs – ITF, the visiting nation, title sponsor and international sponsor representatives” and their “entertainment requirements”. They must also provide comped hotel rooms and the like to all the troughers.

Looks like Tennis Canada has a lot of work to do, and some budget money to dig up   :-O

Wawrinka only had to do the French interview. Fed did it in Swiss-German with former Ivanovic and Graf coach Heinz Gunthardt (with Wawrinka texting like a madman in the background while he was waiting), and then in French.

(Subtitles from Open Court)

Here’s a short slideshow of the best three minutes of Stan Wawrinka’s life.

He almost single-handedly (with a huge assist from Daniel Nestor in the Saturday doubles) brought the country back to the prestigious 16-team World Group by winning both his singles matches, plus the doubles, in Canada’s 3-2 win over Israel.

In the decider on Sunday, Pospisil defeated a game, classy Amir Weintraub 6-2, 7-6 (3), 6-4.

And then he got crushed in a pile of humankind.

Here’s what he told Sportsnet:

“I don’t know (how I got through it). A lot of power bar gels. A lot of Gatorades, I don’t know, to be honest, I was feeling really tired this morning, I was trying not to let it get to my head, trying to ignore it.  I was really sore, but I managed to fight through it and try to put it all aside, and I was able to do that.

 ”I don’t know how I was serving so well because I wasn’t feeling so great physically. But I guess I was just really relaxed. My serve was huge, it really kept me in the match, I was getting a lot of free points. I was serving much better than I did in my previous matches

“Matches like this, you never think they’re going to end. So when you have match point, and when you win, it’s just a shock, a relief, everything at once. Just overwhelming emotions. It kind of took me over, I fell to the ground. I don’t think I would have gotten up if those guys hadn’t come there.”

Pospisil even made the ATP Tour’s home page:

Canada will know Wednesday morning, when the International Tennis Federation meets to make the draw at their annual general meeting in Bangkok, Thailand, who they’ll play and where.

They know when: Feb. 10-12, 2012, two weeks after the end of the Australian Open.

Unfortunately for the squad, and all the assorted board members, assistants, associates and suits along for the trip, if Pospisil gets to pick where they’ll hold the celebratory dinner, it’s more than likely going to be …

Here’s a handy locator for the closest franchise in the Tel Aviv area.

Incumbent teams staying in:
Austria
Croatia
Czech Republic
Russia

Playoff teams getting promotions:
Canada (won on the road)
Italy (won on the road)
Japan
Switzerland (won on the road)

Teams already in:
Argentina
France
Germany
Kazakhstan
Serbia
Spain
Sweden
USA

(AFP/Getty Images photo)