Serving the greater good
Canada has real shot in round of 16 after Raonic aces final test
When the ball whizzed by his right shoulder, a beautifully placed passing shot for the break, Milos Raonic turned his head (not a hair moving) to follow it, then glanced back toward his opponent with a look of puzzlement and … wait, what? … on his face.
The Canadian knew nothing about Scott Griekspoor beyond a bit of match video he’d watched 40 minutes before taking to the court for the crucial fourth rubber in the Davis Cup tie against the Netherlands. Well, that and a few words of insight provided by young teammate Felix Auger-Aliassime, who’d once played a Challenger tour event against Griekspoor.
Griekspoor’s resume was slight for a 27-year-old tennis pro. No Grand Slam appearances and zero previous Davis Cup experience. But when Robin Haase, world No. 44, pulled out lame Sunday morning — barely able to walk, chronic knee injury flaring up after Friday night’s marathon five-set loss to Denis Shapovalov — Griekspoor was summoned for sub duty.
And here was the unyouthful upstart, with a career-high singles ranking of 205, converting the first break, game four of the opening set at Coca-Cola Coliseum.
Raonic, a touch wiser, broke right back though Griekspoor pushed the set to a tiebreak and in fact was the superior player for a good half-hour, challenging for a review of a line call which would have brought him a second break in the eighth game. Instead, it was 4-4 en route to the tiebreak, where Raonic prevailed with an overhead smash and ace No. 9.
“He had nothing to lose,” Raonic observed later, following his straightsets dispatch of Griekspoor — 7-6(4), 6-3, 6-4 — putting Canada over the top 3-1 in the weekend series and securing his country a seed in next year’s qualifying round of 16 countries under the new Davis Cup format.
Banged up, Holland declined to contest a meaningless fifth match, packing up their dolls, dishes and tulips to head home.
That meant the noisy crowd never got a chance to watch Auger-Aliassime, the alternate who might have drawn the assignment, though Shapovalov had been scheduled for the match had it been of significance.
Instead, with the Coliseum emptied, Team Canada assembled ringside to watch the teenager Auger-Aliassime, a Davis Cup novice, endure an initiation rite that required him to play a mini-set versus the retiring Daniel Nestor — in his underwear. The 18-year-old chose black form-fitting boxers, nicely showing off his washboard abs and slender hips.
They all go through this bonding rite of passage. Raonic recalled his own Davis Cup investiture, 2011.
“It was tougher than Felix’s, that’s for sure. We beat Colombia 3-0 in Calgary, that old Corral Stadium, the one right beside the Saddledome. I had to dance between the fourth and fifth rubbers in front of 3,000 people.
“I got to pick the song. I picked the ‘YMCA’ song because I thought all it said was Y-M-C-A.
I learned very quickly that wasn’t it. They played it on repeat a few times. I think it probably negatively traumatized me for the first two years of my career.” Adding, tonguein-cheek: “It built the confidence and character that made me who I am today.”
More seriously, this was the sixth time Raonic had won the clinching match in Davis Cup play, now 12-1 in home ties.
The 27-year-old, who grew up in Thornhill and has been as high as No. 3 in the ATP rankings, is stepping into the leadership shoes of Nestor, Mr. Davis Cup, who was formally inducted into Canada’s Tennis of Hall of Fame during a poignant ceremony. A young team, the best ever assembled, will coalesce around him now, though doubtless with Shapovalov adding flashes of brilliance.
“Yeah, I would like to,” said Raonic, who’d been four years away from Davis Cup because of injuries and surgery. “You know, even over the years, just by being most of the time No. 1 on the team, you sort of fall into it. But there’s always been Daniel there and Daniel lightens things up. I definitely take a different approach. I stay a little bit more quiet and maybe lead by example. Just giving us the best opportunity to win if I play again on the Sunday.”
His best was a brace of threesetters over the weekend, separated by doubles action on Saturday, the only loss Canada absorbed, featuring Nestor and Vasek Pospisil.
“I’m sure it was very disappointing for him,” said Raonic, referring to the veteran Nestor’s swan song in his hometown. “He didn’t play the tennis he would have liked. But to get this win for him, and the way Denis really stepped up on Friday, I’m sure it gives him a great sense of pride and emotion, something he can enjoy. Right now he’s got a lot of other things to figure out, things in front of him.”
Raonic, who showed more of his own emotions in this venue — less stiff and stoic, high-fiving his mates down the line when the match was over — has the bona fides to lead, still the top-ranked Canadian and No. 20 in the world, with a Wimbledon final under his belt.
While that torpedo serve is his booming forte — 23 aces in Sunday’s match — he was called upon to make adjustments on the fly, mixing up spin and angles on his backhand, displaying agile movement and a soft touch on drop shots at the net, firing 24 winners and 3 for 7 on break chances. Griekspoor broke him just the once.
“I just tried to do what I needed to do and then see what the adjustments were that I needed to make after that. I thought he played well … (with) the stresses of the Davis Cup, especially his first match, playing to stay alive.
“I thought he stepped up and played with a lot of courage. Played some brave tennis and did a lot of things well.’’
Griekspoor: “It was not easy. He’s one of the top players. Big game, big serve, big forehand.’’
Canada won’t know which nation they’ll face in the international tournament’s qualifying round next February until the draw on Sept. 26. The altered format has displeased most players, particularly since the finals in November 2019 will be played at a neutral site, either Lille or Madrid — thereby removing the host nation rah-rah that makes Davis Cup distinct — and with two countries drawing wild cards into the main event. Which is clearly intended to hold a spot for Switzerland, should Roger Federer decide to participate.
With the team as composed now, however, Canada is fit to go toe-to-toe with the best.
“We’ve proven this weekend how good we are,” said captain Frank Dancevic, second only to Nestor in Davis Cups played for Canada. “We played a tough team. (The Dutch) are not easy customers.’’
They’re ranked No. 18. Canada is 14th.
“The more we can have these guys playing for us, the further we can get and the better chance we have of winning this whole thing some day.”