Team Canada has found themselves back into the World Group of the Davis Cup for the seventh straight year. On Sunday, Denis Shapovalov of Vaughan, Ontario beat Ramkumar Ramanathan of India 6-3, 7-6, 6-3 to help Canada beat India three matches to one in the best of five series at Northlands Coliseum in Edmonton. India’s Yuki Bhambri beat Brayden Schnur of Toronto in straight sets, 6-4, 4-6, 6-4 in an exhibition match following the Canadian victory.
But a major reason for the Canadian success this weekend was because of the play of Canadian Olympic gold medalist Daniel Nestor. The 12-time major champion from Toronto teamed up with Vasek Pospisil of Vernon, British Columbia to beat Rohan Bopanna and Purav Raja of India 7-5, 7-5, 5-7, 6-3 in the Saturday doubles match. The win could have been considered an upset as Bopanna is currently ranked 19th in the world in men’s doubles and won the mixed doubles this past June at the French Open with Gabriela Dabrowski of Ottawa, Ontario.
At 45 years of age, Nestor should be considered the Gordie Howe of Canadian tennis. His longevity in the sport is remarkable as he has been a member of the Canadian Davis Cup team since 1992 when he shocked the tennis world with his singles win over Sweden’s Stefan Edberg. Nestor announced last week he would retire after the 2018 U.S. Open.
It will now be interesting to see who Canada will play in the 2018 Davis Cup. In this historic stretch, where Canada has qualified for the Davis Cup every year since 2012, Canada reached the semifinals of the 2013 Davis Cup after beating Spain and Italy and beat Japan in the first round of the 2015 Davis Cup.
