Canada set to take on Serbia in Davis Cup semi-final action

Tennis Canada hopes to continue to break new ground when they take on Serbia for the first time in Davis Cup semi-final action from Sept. 13 – 15.

On Tuesday, Canadian captain Martin Laurendeau named world No. 11 Milos Raonic, No. 40 Vasek Pospisil, No. 152 Frank Dancevic and doubles No. 15 Daniel Nestor as the four players that will travel to Belgrade along with three extended squad members.

"We are feeling very good, it has been a good year on the court for the guys individually and as a team," Laurendeau said during a conference call after the announcement. "There has been a lot of reasons to feel good about this year and we are carrying that into the upcoming trip to Serbia."

Canada qualified for the World Group semi’s in April after a quarter-final victory over Italy. They earned their first ever World Group win a few months earlier in February against Spain. Both ties were played on hard court at Thunderbird Sports Centre in Vancouver.

"It has been a year where we have done a lot of things that we have never done before and we want to continue to do that," Laurendeau said. "We are really looking forward to the challenge and for another chance to keep alive this great story we are going through."

The trip to Serbia will present Canada with a some difficulties, not only will their opposition put forth a strong side anchored by world No. 1 Novak Djokovic but there is the issue of playing on the road and on clay for the first time in the tournament.

"It will be a challenging surface to adapt to for both teams. The Serbs also have been playing on hard courts ever since Wimbledon," Laurendeau said. "Both teams will have their hands full dealing with the different ball and the surface."

The fact that the matches are being played indoors at Belgrade Arena suits Canada according to their captain.

"Indoor tennis is always something that we enjoy and we like," Laurendeau said. "Even though it is clay, we still play in conditions where the ball will travel pretty well [in indoor conditions]."

Most of the team will travel to Serbia by Thursday or Friday and the team will begin practicing Monday.

Aside from Djokovic, the Canadian contingent will also have their hands full with world No. 21 Janko Tipsarevic, No. 144 Dusan Lajovic and doubles No. 11 Nenad Zimonjic.

However, the match that everyone has their eyes on is Raonic vs Djokovic. Laurendeau did his best to dispel any hype around the potential first ever meeting between the two.

"Theoretically before those two meet, if they are to meet on Sunday morning, there is a lot of tennis to be played before that." Laurendeau said. "Whether we play the world number one or world number whatever, it's always a match that we try to prepare the best for and we give it all we have, so there wont be any difference - whether it's Novak or anybody else."

Should Djokovic live up to his No. 1 ranking and make it to the finals at the U.S. Open on Sept. 9, he will have little rest before heading back home, especially with an appearance slated for his charity dinner in the Big Apple a day after the tournament concludes.

Perhaps the more intriguing question for Canadians is who will be slotted behind Raonic in singles. Pospisil, 23, lost his only Davis Cup singles match this year against Italian Andreas Seppi but had a surprising run to the Rogers Cup semi-final last month in Montreal, he is currently practicing on clay in Florida.

Meanwhile Dancevic, 28, came back from injury to make his first ever second round appearance at the U.S. Open. As well, he has been part of the Davis Cup team since 2002 and this year gave Canada a pivotal 2-0 lead over Spain in the first tie by defeating Marcel Granollers in straight sets.

"The first thing is to go over there and to see how everybody feels, they've got nine months of tennis in their bodies," Laurendeau said. "We have to evaluate and make sure that everyone is fit to go through this long weekend, and fit to play a four or five hour match if need be. We cant jump the gun too quick, we will have to assess when we are there."

The winner will move on to the Davis Cup final in November against either Argentina or the Czech Republic.