EDMONTON, September 17, 2017 (Press Release)
In a battle of two teams featuring experienced doubles players, Canada captured a 2-1 lead over India on the second day of Davis Cup by BNP Paribas World Group play-off action at Northlands Coliseum in Edmonton. Daniel Nestor and Vasek Pospisil solved the Indian duo of Rohan Bopanna and Purav Raja 7-5, 7-5, 5-7, 6-3 on Saturday to give Canada the edge heading into Sunday’s final day of competition.
After being held out of Friday’s schedule for precautionary reasons following a back injury, Pospisil looked strong in the two hour and 52 minute contest. The Canadians broke their opponents six times over the course of the match, with half of those coming in the dramatic second set. In the third, India first broke at 3-3 to swing the momentum in their favour as they extended the match. However, they couldn’t capitalize on their momentum and Canada was able to secure the huge victory in four sets.
Day 2. Match #3. Canada wins in 4 sets. Nestor and Pospisil put on a show for the home fans on Saturday. #GoCanada pic.twitter.com/cceBS7zZvZ
— Tennis Canada (@TennisCanada) 16. September 2017
“I think it played a big part in the win today for two reasons,” said Pospisil about sitting out Friday’s singles rubber. “One, I think I wasn’t ready to play yesterday. I would’ve been pretty beat up after playing going into today. The other part is that I could do more doubles stuff knowing that my first match was going to be doubles and not singles. It changes a lot; I think today was one of my best doubles performances at Davis Cup because I didn’t have that match on Friday.”
This is Nestor’s first Davis Cup win since Canada’s victory over Japan in the 2015 World Group first round over Japan. He now is 48-26 in Davis Cup play, a Canadian record.
“It was special because I had a tough year and wasn’t sure about coming,” commented Nestor following the match. “Once I got here I was just thankful that I came. I think it would have been really difficult for me if I had not come to just sit back and watch and not be a part of it. So I’m happy that I came but the most important thing is that we got the win.”
A large part of Canada’s recent Davis Cup success has come at the hands of Nestor and Pospisil. Nestor has represented the Canadian flag in 51 ties, while Pospisil has displayed some of his best tennis on the Davis Cup stage. The Canadian duo now hold a 6-4 record when playing together in Davis Cup competition.
