The Canada vs. Great Britain Davis Cup series Feb. 3-5 in Ottawa, Canada is one of the most intriguing of the 2017 Davis Cup first round matches.
It’s gained a lot of attention not for who is playing, but who is not playing.
The series was supposed to feature world No. 1 Andy Murray for Great Britain and world No. 4 Milos Raonic of Canada. However, both stars have pulled out this series due to burnout/exhaustion (Murray) and injury (Raonic).
Murray’s absence provides another excellent opportunity for Dan Evans, one of the most improved players in men’s tennis in the last year. Evans had a match point against eventual champion Stan Wawrinka at last year’s U.S. Open and has moved steadily up the rankings from No. 174 a year ago on Feb. 1, 2016.
After his recent run to the fourth round of the Australian Open, he is at a career-high No. 45 in the ATP World Tour rankings, leap-frogging his Davis Cup teammate Kyle Edmund as the new British No. 2 at No. 45 – marking the first time three Brits have ranked in the top 50 of the ATP rankings in 11 years (Murray, Tim Henman and Greg Rusedski.) He and Edmund will anchor the British singles effort against Canada, while Murray’s brother Jaime and Dominic Inglot will still provide for a strong doubles team.
The absence of Raonic from Canada’s team will place added pressure on Vasek Pospisil, the former world No. 25 and Wimbledon quarterfinalist in 2015. Pospisil has been in a major slump of late, seeing his ranking drop down to his current perch of No. 133. He’s capable of beating just about anyone, but his confidence is low. Peter Polansky, at No. 128, is actually Canada’s top-ranked singles player in this series, but tennis enthusiasts should take a look at 17-year-old Denis Shapovalov, the 2016 Wimbledon junior champion, who could make some noise in this series. He is ranked No. 234 in singles, but is targeted by many to potentially turn into a future top 10 player, with a wicked left-handed serve and devastating groundstrokes. He has had a big win on Canadian soil before, beating Nick Kyrgios in the first round of the Canadian Open last summer. Could this Davis Cup series provide him another stage for him to grab the spotlight?
In doubles, Canada’s timeless wonder, 44-year-old Daniel Nestor, will play alongside Pospisil and will have an entertaining, top-level doubles clash with Murray and Inglot.
Canada is more hurt by Raonic’s absence than Britain without Murray, which will affect the Canada vs. Great Britain betting odds. However, strange things happen in Davis Cup and don’t underestimate a team playing in front of a home crowd. Perhaps this will be another stage where Shapovalov will continue his rise in men’s tennis.
