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Milos Raonic first up as Canada takes on Japan in Vancouver this weekend in Davis Cup

Milos Raonic will lead things off Friday in Vancouver, against Tatsuma Ito, in World Group Davis Cup first-round action (Stephanie Myles/opencourt.ca)

VANCOUVER – In a perfect world, Vasek Pospisil vs. Kei Nishikori would have been first up on Friday to allow the No. 2 Canadian maximum recovery time before Saturday's crucial doubles.

But that's Davis Cup.

In the end, Milos Raonic will kick things off at 2 p.m. PST against Japan's Tatsuma Ito, as the Canadian Davis Cup squad looks to kick off a potentially deep run in the 2015 World Group with a first-round victory over Japan.

Raonic is a heavy favorite in that match. The second singles on Friday will see Pospisil take on Nishikori, currently at a career-best No. 4 in the world.

As well as Raonic and Nishikori know each other, Nishikori and Pospisil have never met.

"I will have to study some more," Nishikori said after the official draw, held at the lovely Cecil Green Park House on the campus of the University of British Columbia.

The glamour matchup of this Davis Cup weekend, the most highly anticipated one, will be Nishikori vs. Raonic. (Stephanie Myles/opencourt.ca)
The glamour matchup of this Davis Cup weekend, the most highly anticipated one, will be Nishikori vs. Raonic. (Stephanie Myles/opencourt.ca)

"I know i’m going to have my hands full. I’m definitely the underdog, there’s no doubt about that, I’m not going to lie to myself or anybody. But at the same time, I do think I can win," Pospisil said. "I’ve had a top five win before.  I think I can definitely go out there and beat him. It’s going to be a tough task, but I can do it."

Japanese captain Minoru Ueda said the decision on his No. 2 singles player – choosing Tatsuma Ito (currently ranked No. 85) over Go Soeda (ranked No. 86 and chosen a year ago when the two teams met in the first round in Tokyo) – didn't come down to much. "The court surface is a little quicker, so I think Ito is a better choice on the quicker surface," Ueda said through an interpreter.

The face of Canadian men's tennis at the Davis Cup draw ceremony Friday. (Stephanie Myles/opencourt.ca)
The face of Canadian men's tennis at the Davis Cup draw ceremony Friday. (Stephanie Myles/opencourt.ca)

Many are already looking ahead to the fourth match, first up on Sunday, when Raonic and Nishikori add another chapter to their budding rivalry. With several notable no-shows for this first-round weekend, this clash between top-10 players no doubt is the most starried among all of the eight World Group ties this weekend.

"The draw is what it is, I think there’s really no surprises there. Come Sunday, if it does get to that point, it’s really an opportunity for one of us to close and one of us to keep the team alive, so obviously high stakes on that match," Raonic said. "I think we’ve played so much, we’ve watched each other play so much. and we know each other pretty well. So it’s about going out there and battling."

But there's a lot do to before that happens.

"Before that, there are three matches. The important thing is to have the lead through those matches, and try to win at least two of three – if not all of them," Canadian captain Martin Laurendeau said. "We’re confident in our team in the sense that the players are all healthy. They’ve all played well since the beginning of the year.

Captain Martin Laurendeau, Vasek Pospisil, Milos Raonic, Daniel Nestor and Frank Dancevic pose for photographers after the official draw ceremony Friday. (Stephanie Myles/opencourt.ca)
Captain Martin Laurendeau, Vasek Pospisil, Milos Raonic, Daniel Nestor and Frank Dancevic pose for photographers after the official draw ceremony Friday. (Stephanie Myles/opencourt.ca)

"Davis Cup is a month later this year so they’ve all played an extra month and arrive here in good form, playing in the place where we’ve played well in the past, before fans we know will be there for us and will help us play our best tennis," he added. "The conditions are excellent, a lot better than last year (when the team had to play without both Raonic and Pospisil in Tokyo, and lost) and it’s up to us to take advantage of all those factors."

For now, the doubles pairings are Pospisil and Daniel Nestor for the Canadians, and Go Soeda and Yasutaka Ushiyama for Japan. You would hav to think that unless Japan is somehow up 2-0 after the singles on Friday, Nishikori could well be called into action there as he was a year ago in Tokyo, when he and Uchiyama, then an unknown 21-year-old, shocked Nestor and an injured Frank Dancevic in four sets.

"We'll see after the first day," Ueda said, laughing."