Colombia survives to play another Davis Cup day, after win in doubles over Vasek Pospisil and Daniel Nestor

The Colombian Davis Cup doubles team of Robert Farah and Juan Sebastian Cabal had a pretty big advantage over the Canadians going into their crucial doubles rubber on Saturday.

They are a regular doubles tandem, experienced together. And they have faced Canadian doubles star Daniel Nestor numerous times this season, enough to de-mystify the longtime doubles star and get a good feel for what he might do.

On the other side, Nestor and partner Vasek Pospisil hadn't played together for nearly a year, since a first-round loss at a tournament in Basel, Switzerland last October.

That experience showed in a 7-6 (4), 7-6 (7), 6-4 Colombian victory Saturday that kept their hopes in the Davis Cup World Group playoff tie alive.

Canada still leads 2-1, though, after a pair of singles victories on Friday. No. 1 Milos Raonic will be up first in singles on Sunday against Colombian No. 1 Santiago Giraldo to clinch it.

On a surface as quick as the Premier court laid down at the Halifax Metro Centre, it often comes down to one or two points in doubles. That certainly was case Saturday. A point or two in the first-set tiebreaker. A point or two in the second-set tiebreaker (the Canadians saved four set points before ultimately losing it).

And, at 4-4 in the third set, a couple of quality serve returns by Cabal set up the crucial break. The Canadians had a break point against the Colombians serve as they tried to serve it out, but were denied.

There were no break points in the first set. In the second, each team was 1-for-2 in break opportunities. In the third set, the Colombians broke on their third opportunity of the set. Nestor and Pospisil only had one chance in that set – and it came in that final game. They just didn't create enough opportunities even though neither Cabal nor Farah have massive serves. In the end, it came down to the return.

On the plus side, Pospisil won't have used up too much physically during the first two days, with a straight-set victory in singles on Friday and the same in the loss on Saturday, which took less than 2 1/2 hours.

It's likely Pospisil won't be needed to win a fifth and deciding rubber; Raonic is an odds-on favourite to take care of business in the first singles match on Sunday.

But you never know. It's Davis Cup.

"It’s easy. We’re still alive, we’re still paying, so they have to beat us," Cabal said. "That’s the first rule we have in court. You have to beat us. Tomorrow is another day."