Oh Canada!


While many of the headlines leading up to this year’s Rogers Cup presented by American Express are sure to be dominated by ATP Tour superstars such as top-ranked Roger Federer, world No. 2 Rafael Nadal, and retiring American legend Andre Agassi, some of the homegrown talents who will be competing at the Rogers Cup cannot be overlooked.

With Canada’s top men having just put the finishing touches on a 3-2 victory in a Davis Cup tie against Venezuela and the women’s Fed Cup team currently ranked No. 11 in the world and firmly implanted in World Group II, the international tennis scene is beginning to take notice.

The Canadian contingent at the Rogers Cup will be lead by the nation’s top-ranked singles player, Frank Dancevic (Niagara Falls, Ontario), and doubles superstar Daniel Nestor (Toronto). It was these two men who clinched Canada’s Davis Cup victory, thanks to a 6-1, 6-4, 7-6(2) win over Jose De Armas and Orlando Superlano (Venezuela) and, thus, built an insurmountable 3-0 lead in the tie.

Dancevic is on the cusp of the Top 100 in the world, currently sitting at a career-high ranking of No, 112. Having collected wins over ATP stars such as Nikolay Davydenko (Russia) and Greg Rusedski (Britain), as well as taking former world No. 1 Andy Roddick (USA) to the limit at the Stella Artois Championships earlier this year, the 21-year old has shown that he is unwilling to back down from any opponent.

Dancevic has yet to earn a victory in four tries at the Rogers Cup, but he appears primed for a breakthrough at this year’s event.

While Dancevic’s career is still on the upswing, Nestor is looking to maintain a level of dominance which he has held for a number of years now along with longtime doubles partner Mark Knowles (Bahamas). This year’s Cup will mark his 18th appearance in the doubles draw of the event and his 10th alongside Knowles.

While Nestor, the former top-ranked doubles player in the world, has had his fair share of success at the Masters Series event with Knowles, including trips to the doubles final in 1996 and 2002, it was with compatriot Sebastien Lareau (Montreal) that he enjoyed his greatest Rogers Cup triumph.

He and Lareau, who won gold together for Canada in the men’s doubles draw of the 2000 Sydney Olympics, earned the doubles championship in front of a cheering hometown crowd at the Rogers Cup of that same year.

Joining Dancevic and Nestor at the Rogers Cup will be two of Canada’s up-and-coming young talents, Philip Bester (Vancouver) and Peter Polansky (Thornhill, Ontario).

Bester, who put Canada up 2-0 in their Davis Cup tie thanks to a 7-5 6-4 2-6 6-4 win over Jhonathan Medina (Venezuela), has enjoyed stellar results at both the professional and junior level this year. He reached the semis of the USA F9 Futures in May and put together an outstanding run at Roland Garros to make it to the final of the junior boys’ singles draw in June.

Polansky, meanwhile, is one of tennis’ best comeback stories of 2006. The talented 18-year old suffered several lacerations including a severed popliteal artery when he fell three stories from a hotel window while sleepwalking in Mexico City last April. Now, four months later, Polansky is back on court and looking to make waves at the Rexall Centre.

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