TORONTO, September 13, 2018 (Press Release)
The official draw ceremony for the Davis Cup by BNP Paribas World Group play-off tie between Canada and the Netherlands was held on Thursday at Hotel X in Toronto. The draw determined the matches that will be played from September 14-16 at Coca-Cola Coliseum in Toronto. The winner of the tie will earn a spot in the qualification round to be played in February of 2019 which will decide the countries that will contest the final at the end of the season as part of the new Davis Cup format set to be implemented beginning next year.
The Canadian team, led by captain Frank Dancevic, and consisting of Félix Auger-Aliassime, Daniel Nestor, Vasek Pospisil, Denis Shapovalov, and Milos Raonic, will play two singles matches on Friday, a doubles match on Saturday, and two more singles matches on Sunday against the Netherlands.
Raonic and Shapovalov were selected by Dancevic to play singles while Dutch captain Paul Haarhuis will counter with world no. 44 Robin Haase and world no. 236 Thiemo De Bakker. Raonic will be contesting his first tie since 2015. He boasts a 10-1 record in Davis Cup matches played on Canadian soil. For his part, Shapovalov will be appearing in his fifth Davis Cup tie for Canada and is 4-3 in the seven matches he’s played. Saturday’s doubles match will see Nestor and Pospisil go up against Jean-Julien Rojer and Matwe Middelkoop. Following a long and successful career, Nestor will retire from professional tennis after the tie.
Today’s draw produced the following weekend match-ups:
| Event | Representing Canada | Representing the Netherlands |
| 1st Singles Rubber – Friday, September 14 – 4 p.m. ET | Milos Raonic (world no. 20) | Thiemo De Bakker (world no. 236) |
| 2nd Singles Rubber – Friday, September 14 | Denis Shapovalov (world no. 34) | Robin Haase (world no. 44) |
| Doubles Rubber – Saturday, September 15 – 2:30 p.m. E.T. | Daniel Nestor / Vasek Pospisil | Matwe Middelkoop / Jean-Julien Rojer |
| 3rd Singles Rubber – Sunday, September 16 – 2 p.m. ET | Milos Raonic (world no. 20) | Robin Haase (world no. 44) |
| 4th Singles Rubber – Sunday, September 16 | Denis Shapovalov (world no. 34) | Thiemo De Bakker (world no. 236) |
The opening singles match will take place at 4 p.m. ET on Friday, September 14 and will be followed by another singles match. The doubles match will take place Saturday, September 15 at 2:30 p.m. ET and the remaining two singles matches will be held on Sunday, September 16 at 2 p.m. ET. All matches are best-of-five sets. If the tie has already been decided before the final day, only one best-of-three sets match will be played.
Canada and the Netherlands will be facing off for the fourth time in Davis Cup history. Canada was victorious in two of the three previous encounters, the last of which dates back to 2004 in the World Group first round. Canada will be the seeded nation thanks to its ranking of no. 14, while the Netherlands are currently ranked no. 18 in the Davis Cup rankings.
The winner of this tie will secure a spot in the World Group for 2019, while the losing nation will be relegated to their respective Zonal Group I.
The Canadian team has been in the World Group since 2012, having reached the semi-finals in 2013 and the quarter-finals in 2015. Canada is participating in this upcoming tie following their 3-1 loss to Croatia in the first round this past February in Osijek.
Davis Cup by BNP Paribas is the largest annual team competition in sport, with 133 countries participating in 2018. The prestigious Davis Cup trophy has been awarded since 1900.
Tickets are still available for the tie between Canada and the Netherlands, which will take place at Coca-Cola Coliseum. Day tickets start at $37.50 and three-day packages for the event are also available. Tickets can be purchased on Ticketmaster.
The matches will be broadcast on Sportsnet.
