Davis Cup to serve up exciting matches this weekend
It's not easy converting a hockey rink into a world-class tennis court but that's what has happened at Northlands Coliseum in Edmonton.
As many as 5,000 fans each day are expected to attend this weekend's action as Canada and India square off in a Davis Cup play-off tie that started Friday afternoon.
"Watching tennis on TV is fantastic — watching it live is even better, " said Gavin Ziv, this weekend's tournament director.
"The atmosphere for Davis Cup is off the charts — a little bit different than your normal tennis event."
The showdown between Canada and India could become heated considering what's on the line.
Canada is vying to remain in the prestigious World Group for a seventh straight year, while India is trying to get back to that level, something it hasn't done in nearly three decades.
The Canadian Davis Cup team — Daniel Nestor, Vasek Pospisil, Denis Shapovalov and Brayden Schnur — is taking on India in two singles matches on Friday, a doubles match on Saturday and two reverse singles matches on Sunday.
The Indian team is made up of Ramkumar Ramanathan, Yuki Bhambri, Rohan Bopanna and Purav Raja.
Team India's fan base has already reached out for tickets and will be out in full force.
"That's actually the charm of Davis Cup — the duality of the sport when it's country verses country you want to have different groups in the crowd and the cheering back and forth that way."
Tweaking their games
The Davis Cup hasn't been here since 1997, mainly because of hockey.
Up until last year the Coliseum was home to the Oilers. Now that the team plays downtown at Rogers Place, it's easier to get the Coliseum in shape for tennis.
Since Monday the Canadians, and the Indians have been sharing the court, tweaking their games for this weekend's battle.
It started Friday afternoon. In a singles contest, Schnur made his Davis Cup debut against India's No. 1 ranked Ramanathan.
"I'm really excited, I'm just really happy to be nominated for the team 10 days ago, " Schnur said before his match. He went into the match ranked 192nd in the world while his opponent was ranked 155th.
The player everyone wants to see, the young phenom Shapovalov, was set to play at 6 p.m. Friday.
The rising Canadian sniper shocked the tennis world earlier this summer by beating Spain's Rafael Nadal at the Rogers Cup.
The 18-year-old beat the world's best player in three sets with punishing ground shots and cross-court smashes that had the Montreal crowd screaming his name.
Ziv is hoping the same Shapovalov shows up this weekend. If he does, it could turn out to be the hottest ticket in town.
Rock-star status
"It's pretty amazing what Denis has done and he's become somewhat of a rock star, " added Ziv, who expects the crowd to swell depending on how Shapovalov does in his Friday night match against India's Bhambri, who is ranked 157th in the world.
Shapovalov is ranked 51st.
"People are watching [Shapovalov], seeing what he's doing every week inside the ATP tour," Ziv said. "The interest in the sport gets amplified so much, and it's a great narrative."
Shapovalov's win over Nadal at the Rogers Cup made the young Canadian a household name in tennis circles worldwide.
Playing this weekend in a team format will be a big test for Shapovalov.
"I don't think there's much pressure at all for me, " said Shapovalov, who said Nestor and Pospisil are still the leaders of Team Canada despite his own top ranking for this event.
Nestor and Pospisil have a combined 32 years of Davis Cup experience.
"I don't think there's much pressure for me, just going out there playing for my country," Shapovalov said. "Yeah, just going to have fun."
