Yahoo Sports 
Canadian Davis Cup team decimated by loss of Milos Raonic, now Vasek Pospisil for next weekend's tie vs. Belgium
WIMBLEDON – Without Milos Raonic, next weekend's Davis Cup World Group quarter-final tie against Belgium in Ostend was going to be a challenge.
With the news Thursday that No. 2 Vasek Pospisil – fresh off his first Grand Slam quarter-final appearance in singles at Wimbledon – also has to bow out, the challenge turns into an uphill battle.
Here’s the press-release quote from Pospisil:
“I’m beyond disappointed to not be able to play this tie. I’ve been advised today by doctors to take 2-3 weeks off to avoid any further damage to my wrist. Playing Davis Cup has always been and remains extremely important to me. I feel terrible as this is a big tie for our team and I was looking forward to doing my part to help us get to the semifinals. I believe in this team and I will be watching and cheering them on as they compete next weekend.”
Pospisil said in the press conference following his loss to Andy Murray Wednesday evening that he was to have an MRI on his hand, which he had been shaking off numerous times during his doubles match on Monday and again against Murray. He also was applying freeze spray to it. He said he didn’t expect it to keep him out of Davis Cup; Raonic said the same thing after his loss to Kyrgios. Both obviously were hoping for the best, and the best turned out to be the worst.
Who’s left? Well, 30-year-old Davis Cup veteran Frank Dancevic, who is playing a $50,000 tournament in Illinois on hard courts this week (he’s in the semi-finals of the doubles) will have to lead the way.
And then? Well, it appears that 21-year-old Filip Peliwo, already named to the squad with the absence of Raonic, will make his Davis Cup debut. Not only that, he will have to be an impact player if the team hopes to get through.
“I’m sorry to see that happen to (Pospisil), and also to Milos, very difficult to have them both out. I wish them both a speedy recovery,” Peliwo told Eh Game from his Paris training base Thursday night. Obviously playing is a possibility; I’m very excited to have that chance, and to do my best to represent my country to the best of my ability.”
Tennis Canada will name a fourth member of the team to replace Pospisil soon. The pickings are slim at the best of times in terms of having backup players who can compete with, and beat, the type of players Team Belgium will field.
But this week is particularly challenging.
With the Pan-Am Games in Toronto, Canada has actually nominated good players to complete in the tennis event this time around including Peter Polansky (who hasn’t played since last fall because of a wrist injury), Philip Bester and Brayden Schnur, who had a very good junior career and is having an outstanding college career at the University of North Carolina. They also are competing in doubles and in the case of Schnur, in the mixed doubles with Gabriela Dabrowski.
Here’s what Davis Cup captain Martin Laurendeau had to say in the press release:
“This is obviously not the scenario we thought we would find ourselves in for this quarter-final tie but injuries happen and it’s never good timing. These guys have given so much to Davis Cup over the years. Their commitment has been outstanding. If they could play, they would. Certainly now we are the underdogs, but we still have a huge tie to play next weekend and a group of guys who are going to go out there and give it their all.”
One possibility for the fourth player could be veteran doubles player Adil Shamasdin, who is in the semi-finals of a clay-court Challenger event in Germany this week.
Shamasdin, like Peliwo, has been with the squad on numerous occasions as a practice partner, but has never played a live rubber.
He obviously could only play the doubles with Daniel Nestor; the two paired up last summer for the Newport event on grass this very same week, losing in the quarter-finals.
Beyond that, anyone selected would be unlikely to see action – except in the worst-possible-scenario case that yet another player went down to injury.
The Belgians are fielding four top-100 players next weekend – not world-beaters, but all solid players.
What once looked like a slam-dunk and a potential date with Serbia in the semi-finals now appears to be a tough slog.
