Tennis Canada Names Davis Cup Team to Face Mexico 

January 29, 2008 

Dancevic, Nestor, Niemeyer and Polansky set to represent Canada in Calgary

Tennis Canada announced Tuesday the Miele Canadian Davis Cup team nominated to compete in the upcoming Americas Zone, Group I opening round Davis Cup by BNP Paribas tie between Canada and Mexico.

Frank Dancevic (Niagara Falls, Ontario), Daniel Nestor (Toronto), Frederic Niemeyer (Sherbrooke, Quebec) and Peter Polansky (Thornhill, Ontario) were named to the squad by captain Martin Laurendeau and will return home to the indoor taraflex court at the Corral in Calgary, Alberta from February 8-10, 2008.

“I couldn’t be happier that Canada will have these players representing the country,” expressed Laurendeau. “Both veterans Nestor and Niemeyer have confirmed their presence for the tie, as well as our top singles player, Dancevic, who can be labeled a veteran in his own right since he has been playing Davis Cup for the past five years. Polansky’s presence is also great news as he is an up and coming player who can benefit the most from being around these guys and all the experience they bring.”

Dancevic has been participating in Davis Cup play for Canada since 2002. His biggest win came in 2003 when he defeated Brazil’s Flavio Saretta in the fifth and deciding rubber of the World Group playoff to vault Canada into the World Group for the first time in over a decade. In 2007 action, Dancevic reached his first ATP final at Indianapolis while defeating his first Top 10 player (No.5 Andy Roddick) along the way. He was also a quarter-finalist at the Rogers Cup presented by National Bank in Montreal. Dancevic reached the second round of two grand slams and reached a career-high ranking of No. 65 on the ATP Tour on September 10, 2007.

Nestor holds the record for most years played by a Canadian in Davis Cup at 15. He also holds the record for most wins (37), most doubles wins (22), most ties played (32) and best doubles team with Niemeyer (9-0). He made his Davis Cup debut in 1992 against Sweden in World Group qualifying and defeated world No.1 Stefan Edberg. In 2007, Nestor captured four doubles titles on the ATP Tour including first time wins at the Tennis Masters Cup Shanghai and 2007 French Open. He reached 600 career wins on home soil with his first round win at the Rogers Cup presented by National Bank and his 50 career ATP doubles titles puts him second among active players (behind Jonas Bjorkman’s 51). He finished the year ranked No. 3 on the Stanford ATP doubles rankings.

Niemeyer has represented Canada in Davis Cup since 1999. The only year he did not play was in 2006 due to a knee injury. He holds a 10-1 doubles record, including 5-0 indoors, and sports an 8-2 overall record in rubbers played on home soil. Niemeyer captured four professional singles titles in 2007 including the $100,000 Challenger in Vancouver, the Canada F2 Futures Event and the Canada F3 Futures Event. He was named the ITF Featured Player of the Month in March 2007 and he finished the year ranked No.172 on the ATP Tour.

Polansky is the youngster on this Davis Cup squad. He has a 1-1 record in the two rubbers he has played for Canada since becoming a member of the team. He captured four singles titles in his first full season on the professional circuit while ousting three top seeds from competition over that span. His 2007 championships include the El Salvador F1 Futures Event, Guatemala F1 Futures Event, Costa Rica F1 Futures Event and USA F6 Futures Event. He finished the year at No. 343 on the ATP singles rankings which is 478 spots higher than the end of 2006. He reached a career-high ranking of No.325 on October 8, 2007. In 2008, Polansky has continued to make his mark, winning the Guatemala F1 Futures event for a second straight year and reaching the quarter-finals in El Salvador.

The Miele Canadian Davis Cup team will compete in the City of Calgary at the Corral for the fifth time. Canada is undefeated in four prior visits including three sweeps, its most recent coming in February 2007 when Canada dominated Colombia 5-0 and did not drop a set. Canada also defeated Brazil 3-2 in a 2003 World Group playoff, and swept Peru (2003) and Chile (2002).

“We all look forward to playing in the Corral as it has seen us play some of our best matches,” said Laurendeau. “We are undefeated in Calgary and we certainly intend on keeping it this way come February.”

A win for Canada against Mexico would secure a berth in a second round tie against Chile on the road in April with both teams playing for the chance to advance to a World Group playoff. Only 16 countries entered in Davis Cup competition will qualify for the elite World Group.

Tickets are available through the Corral Box Office at (403) 269-9822 or www.ticketmaster.ca. For box tickets, please call (403) 269-0631. Fans outside of the Calgary area can tune in to the live Web cast featuring all of the Davis Cup action on www.tenniscanada.com.