De Voest hopes for hometown advantage in Davis Cup
South African player would love to play the September tie with Canada in Vancouver, where he has a home
There are an estimated 60,000 expat South Africans living in B. C.’ s Lower Mainland — even more when occasional drop- ins, such as globe- trotting professional tennis player Rik de Voest, stop in for a little R& R.
De Voest, a Davis Cup stalwart for the Springboks, shares a home in North Vancouver with his wife, Carolyn, the former athletic director at the Hollyburn Country Club. Indeed, Hollyburn, West Vancouver home to the Odlum Brown Vancouver Open, is where the couple first met in 2005, the same tournament where Rik won the men’s singles title a year later.
With the unexpected decision by Tennis South Africa to dump their Davis Cup World Group tie in September into the laps of Tennis Canada, the de Voests are hoping that Vancouver will again be the venue of choice for Canada’s next Davis Cup round.
“Rik has a lot of support in Vancouver. We’d love to see it here,” says Carolyn, a coaching consultant for executives, entrepreneurs and athletes and postcareer adviser for the Women’s Tennis Association. “Rik gets back here maybe four times a year, three or four days at a time. It would be very special if Tennis Canada settles again on Vancouver.”
The next Davis Cup round for Canada was supposed to happen in South Africa, from Sept. 14- 16, after Canada drew the short straw at the International Tennis Federation ( ITF) draw in early April. However, in a virtually unprecedented decision, Tennis South Africa announced this week it was relinquishing its right to play host to the tie and placed the ball back in Canada’s court. The ITF approved the request, and Canada has agreed to be the host in September.
“We’re almost shocked that this kind of scenario has happened,” Canadian Davis Cup captain Martin Laurendeau told The Vancouver Sun. “The Davis Cup has more than 100 years of history behind it. The only time there’s been a reversal of venue has been because of conflict, war, earthquakes or unsafe conditions and that option was not possible. This came as a complete surprise, but a good surprise.”
Canada, the No. 13- ranked Davis Cup nation, is coming off a 4- 1 defeat to No. 4 France at UBC’S Doug Mitchell Thunderbird Sports Centre in February and needs to win its tie against South Africa to remain in the World Group ( top 16 countries) for 2013. South Africa is ranked No. 23. With the choice of city, venue and surface now at Canada’s discretion, the object is to make life as difficult as possible for the visitors while maximizing the advantages for the host country. One of the supposed reasons Vancouver got the nod in February was to keep the French as far away from their comfort zone as possible. Presumably, they couldn’t get the same level of croissants and cheeses as they would in a Montreal bistro.
“We know UBC is available, but it’s just one of the options we’re considering,” said Michael Downey, CEO of Tennis Canada. “Whatever venue we choose, indoors or outdoors, we have to choose one where we think we have a competitive advantage. Vancouver was always going to be high on our priority list, because of how successful the tie was in February [ in terms of fan, corporate and government support]. Montreal, Toronto, Calgary ... they’re all in play. We have a positive feeling about Calgary [ the Saddledome] because we’ve played there numerous times and we just keep winning there.”
Downey said Tennis Canada is in no rush to make a decision and will do its due diligence before arriving at one.
“We want to load the deck and play in a city and venue that helps our chances of winning,” he said. “But we also want to take into consideration a market which is good for the sport of tennis, maximizes publicity for our sport and helps at the grassroots level. If Vancouver doesn’t get it this time, it doesn’t mean we won’t be coming back. The guys [ players] really felt they had an advantage there last time because the venue was packed and noisy.”
Indeed, Downey said Laurendeau and Canadian Davis Cuppers such as Milos Raonic, Daniel Nestor and Vasek Pospisil will have a big say in determining where the tie will be played. Laurendeau will sound them out at the French Open, later this month in Paris.
“I don’t think it’s a disadvantage to go to any city in Canada,” Laurendeau said. “Anywhere is good. Do we want to play the South Africans at altitude [ Calgary] or sea level [ Vancouver]? What plays to our strengths? And do the guys want to fly another five hours to Vancouver after they’ve already done millions of miles of travelling? As the team gets together, we’ll make the right call.”
With the tie against South Africa falling just a week after the U. S. Open in Flushing Meadows, N. Y., either Toronto or Montreal make sense from a logistical standpoint. But Carolyn de Voest hopes otherwise. “It would be great, a really fabulous experience for both of us if it comes to Vancouver,” she said. “We just hope Tennis Canada doesn’t put too much weight behind the fact Rik is married to me.”