Big serving of Raonic helps net split
Canada heads into today’s doubles match with optimism after tasting victory
The University of B. C. is one of Canada’s finest institutions of higher learning — and that’s exactly what Julien Benneteau got at UBC’S Doug Mitchell Sports Centre Friday. An education in advanced physics from Milos Raonic.
The big- serving Canadian aced Benneteau repeatedly — 24 times, to be exact — to win in straight sets, 6- 2, 6- 4, 7- 5, to square Canada’s Davis Cup World Group tie with France at 1- 1.
Earlier Friday, Jo- Wilfried Tsonga showed another young Canadian, Vasek Pospisil, that there is a gulf as wide as the Atlantic between No. 115 in the ATP rankings and a top- six player when he schooled Pospisil 6- 1, 6- 3, 6- 3 in their opening match.
Square after the first day, about as good a result as Canada could hope for, the scenario sent France’s Gael Monfils scrambling to the UBC practice court for some late- evening cramming.
“The two best players won,” explained French captain Guy Forget. “We are at one- all. I knew it was going to be difficult and hard. And that’s exactly the way it is. Now we have three more matches to play. I think all of them will be pretty tight.”
Monfils, ranked No. 13 in the world, is the extra bullet the French have in their chamber. Forget would like the luxury of not having to use him for the reserve singles matches on Sunday.
He may have no choice, though, with the decision pivoting on the result of today’s doubles, which will involve Daniel Nestor of Canada, Michael Llodra of France and whomever the respective coaches decide to pair with them.
“We felt it was a risk for him [ Monfils] to play today,” explained Forget. “He could have played, but we didn’t want to take that chance. We’ll do the best we can to have him ready for Sunday. He needed some work on his knee. We decided to be wise and save him. He’s ready to play if I ask him to play.”
While there was no hint of fear in his voice, Forget nonetheless was given some concerns and options to ponder because of Raonic’s victory.
Canada, ranked 14th, taking down the French, the No. 4 team in the ITF Davis Cup Nations rankings? Still a prayer shot, but then General James Wolfe also faced long odds on the Plains of Abraham. And we know how that turned out.
There are a lot of ifs in play, pivoting on the doubles result and the heavyweight match Sunday between the countries’ respective No. 1 players — Raonic, ranked 29th, and Tsonga, the world No. 6.
It’s the power- against- power pairing that both coaches anticipate with relish, if just for the entertainment value.
“He [ Tsonga] was very strong today, but I think he can play better,” Forget said. “And Milos was in great form today, the way he served. It’s a match that people want to see, including myself. And we know that match will happen for sure. It will be very exciting.”
Raonic was the tonic Canada needed after Tsonga played throw- and- fetch with Pospisil, who might have wanted to go back to his hotel, curl up with a hot mug of Ovaltine and forget what had just happened.
Davis Cup does produce some weird hocus- pocus. John Isner, the world No. 17, upset Roger Federer on Friday to give the U. S. a 2- 0 lead in their Davis Cup matches against the Swiss.
And 20 years ago this month, Nestor, then 19, sent the tennis world spinning off its axis when the No. 238 ranked singles player upset No. 1 Stefan Edberg in the Canada- Sweden Davis Cup tie at the PNE Agrodome.
For Pospisil, however, Friday afternoon was a sobering reminder that the rankings actually mean something. The world No. 115 was barely above 50 per cent on his first serve, double faulted five times, then watched Tsonga chase down and put away every subtle chip shot when it appeared the Frenchman had little chance of a return.
“It was tough playing without my biggest weapon. I needed to serve well in a match like this,” said Pospisil, who was heroic in last September’s Davis Cup tie against Israel, winning three matches.
That win promoted Canada to the big leagues of Davis Cup — the World Group. But Tsonga’s dismantling of Pospisil left him sucking lint and contemplating the difference between tennis’s First World and the rest.
And it left Raonic with the task of defeating Benneteau, the No. 35- ranked singles player, for Canada to have a chance on the weekend.
“It’s a great opportunity, I think,” said Raonic, looking toward his match with Tsonga. “I think I have the ability to do what I need to do — and that’s to win. I’ll stick to the same game plan and try and take control and, hopefully, come out with the right result.”
Although he lost to Benneteau just three months ago, at a tournament in Paris, Raonic declared Thursday, on the eve of their rematch, that he’s not the same player. He was true to his vow.
Benneteau pointed out, in November, that Raonic has some holes in his game, his return of serve needing the most attention.
“He played better today than three months ago at Paris/ Bercy [ the Masters 1000],” Benneteau said.
“His serve is still the same. And he served very well today, and I didn’t get a lot of opportunities off his serve. He was very strong on his returns, very strong on his forehand. He didn’t give me a lot of points, and he didn’t make a lot of mistakes.”