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Sept. 30, 2011
Canada beats Israel in tennis
Close matches make for a best-of-five Davis Cup thriller.
MARVIN GLASSMAN
Vancouver-based Vasek Pospisil became an over-night hometown Canadian tennis star when he won two singles and one doubles match, leading Canada to a narrow 3-2 victory over Israel in their recent Davis Cup best-of-five series (referred to as ties in the game of tennis).
The tournament, held Sept. 16-18 at Canada Stadium in Ramat Hasharon, Israel, saw Posposil show poise, energy and determination in winning all three of Canada’s matches. What kept the series close were the matches that Pospisil did not play; no other Canadian player beat his Israeli opponent.
Ranked #124, Pospisil upset the higher-ranked Israeli Dudi Sela (#96), 7-6 (4), 6-7 (6), 6-1, 6-7 (2), 6-3, in the opening match over five hours. Pospisil faced playing in the 40-degree heat, his formidable opponent and the partisan crowd, who voiced their displeasure whenever Canada won a point.
The following day, Pospisil partnered with Daniel Nestor of Toronto to upset the established Israeli doubles team of Jonathan Erlich and Andy Ram 4-6, 6-3, 6-4, 6-4. It marked the first time in six years that the Israeli duo lost a Davis Cup match on home soil.
Pospisil saved his best performance for his last match and the deciding fifth match of the tie. Pospisil defeated Amir Weintraub (ranked #178) 6-2, 7-6 (3), 6-4, overpowering the Israeli with 27 aces to clinch the tie for Canada.
“I had a weekend I will never forget. It was thrilling to beat both Sela, Weintraub and the Israeli doubles team on their turf. I was ready to fight to the last point. A lot of the energy I had is adrenaline,” said Pospisil by telephone following his tie-clinching victory. Pospisil spent 12 hours on the court playing three matches in three days.
The Canadian victory sealed their entry into the World Group of 16 nations playing in 2012. Canada will play France in February on Canadian soil at a venue still to be determined. The Israeli defeat means that they will play in the regulation Europe/Asia zone next year. Canada is now ranked #14 in world team rankings, up from #21, and Israel, formerly ranked #10 in the world, is now at #11.
“It was disappointing, but we gave it our all on the court. We have to congratulate Canada and Pospisil for what he was able to do,” said Israeli team captain Eyal Rand.
Despite the sub-par performances by Sela and Erlich/Ram, with Erlich committing eight double faults and losing most of his service games, the bright spot for the Israelis was the emergence of 25-year-old Weintraub as Israel’s next rising tennis star.
Weintraub upset the highly touted Milos Raonic of Thornhill (ranked 31st) 5-7, 7-5, 6-3, 6-1, for the best result of his career. Raonic, sidelined since June with a hip injury and a case of food poisoning two days before playing, had to pull out of his remaining singles match following his loss.
“Today is my birthday and I had my best present ever by having the match of my life. I felt I would win the match after the first set. The win will build confidence for the rest of the year and I hope my rankings will rise,” said Weintraub following his victory to tie the series 1-1.
Although Sela lost his opening match, he rebounded with a 6-3, 6-3, 6-3 thrashing of Peter Polansky of Thornhill, a substitute for Raonic, to even the series at 2-2.
The best-of-five series was historic, as both nations met for the first time in Davis Cup history. The tournament also marked the first time Canadians watched a sports event televised live from Israel on national television. The matches produced drama, tension and high-quality tennis that was thrilling for the 5,000 Israeli fans on site and the millions more who watched the matches on television. The enthusiastic Israeli fans proudly displayed “IsraHell” signs for their home-team heroes.
Given that the results were so unexpected – the lower-ranked players, except for the fifth match, all upset their opponents – and the suspense of not knowing which nation would win until the final match, adding to the prestige of the event, fans hope that Canada and Israel will meet again soon in the Davis Cup.
Those Canadians fan watching Davis Cup on television may have been surprised that the event was being broadcast from Canada Stadium and may have wondered if they were, in fact, watching the tournament live from Israel.
Canada Stadium is, indeed, in Israel and nobody could have been more pleased with the Canada-Israel Davis Cup tie than Joe Frieberg of Toronto. In 1977, Frieberg, as chairman of the Israel Tennis Centres in Toronto, raised more than one million dollars from notable Canadian philanthropists to construct the stadium, named in honor of its Canadian financiers.
“How happy I am to see the fruits of our efforts 34 years ago emerge when I saw the matches on television. I am so proud of what our donations for the Israel Tennis Centres have done, not only to support the talented Israeli pros, but giving millions of children in Israel an opportunity to learn and play tennis,” he told the Independent.
“It is a proud moment for both nations and I hope to see Canada play Israel again in Davis Cup tennis soon,” he added.
It may be possible for Canada to meet Israel again in 2012 if Canada loses the first round in the World Group and Israel wins in the Europe/Asia zone. This result also depends on how the draw is made. If the two nations meet in another World Group playoff next September, the tie would be held in Canada.
Canada has played Israel in tennis only one other time, when the Israelis blanked Canada 3-0 in the women’s Fed Cup tie held in Kamloops in 1997.
Marvin Glassman is a Toronto freelance writer.
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