Davis Cup preview: India face uphill task, but Play-off tie against Canada best shot at World Group return

India meet Canada for the first time in the Davis Cup for the World Group Play-off tie at the indoor courts in Edmonton. The Indian team, captained by Mahesh Bhupathi, are eyeing a return to the World Group after a gap of six years. Over the last three years, they have stumbled at this very stage against Serbia, Czech Republic and Spain, despite having home advantage. [caption id=“attachment_4047831” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Indian Davis Cup team during a practice session in New York ahead of the Canada tie. Image courtesy: Instagram @rohanbopanna0403[/caption] This time around, they are facing a depleted Canadian side as they are missing their top-ranked player, World No 11 Milos Raonic. He has been sidelined for over a month because of a prolonged wrist injury. World No 154 Ramkumar Ramanthan will open the tie for India in the first singles rubber against 22-year-old debutant Brayden Schnur. The Canadian captain, Martin Laurendeau, opted to rest the more experience and higher-ranked Vasek Pospisil for the doubles, as he has been hampered by a recurring back issue. Schnur started the year ranked outside the 400, but a solid season on the Challengers and Futures circuit has helped him rise to No 202 in the world. This will be the first time that the Canadian will be playing in a high-profile match and it should be an easy contest for Ramanathan. The 22-year-old from Chennai is unbeaten in Davis Cup this year, winning the last four rubbers at the cost of just one set. Ramanathan is also enjoying a great season, which included a famous win over World No 7 Dominic Thiem on the grasscourts of Antalya, where he made his second ATP quarter-final. His recent results in the North American hardcourt season — he successfully came through qualifying at both Washington and Cincinnati — should give him some confidence ahead of this crucial Davis Cup clash. The 6'2 Indian will rely on his big serve and booming forehand to give his team the first point of the tie. The second singles rubber will be between 25-year-old Yuki Bhambri and teenage sensation Denis Shapovalov. Bhambri, who was out of action for six months in 2016, has made a commendable comeback this year. His ranking had fallen out of the top-500, but thanks to a tremendous quarter-final run at Washington, he is just outside the top-150 at the moment. He beat former top-10 player Gael Monfils en route the quarters, and even took a set off eventual US Open finalist Kevin Anderson. However, all his achievements in 2017 pale in comparison to that to Shapovalov. The 18-year-old Canadian was ranked 250 in the world at the stat of the season. Currently, he is a spot short of entering the top 50. Shapovalov has had a fairytale rise over the last five weeks, which started at the Montreal Masters. After receiving a wildcard into his home tournament, he made the most of his opportunity and made the semi-finals, with wins over Juan Martin del Potro and World No 1 Rafael Nadal. Then came the US Open. He made his way into the main draw through qualifying and went on to become the youngest player to reach the fourth round of the US Open since Michael Chang in 1989. He upset eight-seeded Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in straight sets in the second round and won plenty of fans with his fearless, pacey style of play. He is in red-hot form at the moment and will shoulder Canada’s hopes over the weekend. Captain Laurendeau will hope that Shapovalov will win both his singles rubbers to give the home team an advantage over India. Shapovalov will have an extra incentive driving him on Friday when he takes court in what promises to be a raucous crowd — the last time he played in the Davis Cup in February, his match against Great Britain’s Kyle Edmund was defaulted after the teenager hit the chair umpire in the face with a tennis ball. Shapovalov was trailing Edmund 6-3, 6-4, 2-1 and had just been broken in the deciding fifth rubber when he smashed a ball in anger that struck the chair umpire in the eye. He was instantly disqualified, which handed Great Britain victory and relegated Canada to the World Group Play-offs. Shapovalov is determined to make amends for his folly and will be a dangerous opponent for both Bhambri and Ramanathan. The tie could be decided by the doubles rubber, which will be played on Saturday. Bhupathi had earlier named Rohan Bopanna and Saketh Myneni as the doubles team, preferring to go with a combination of three singles players and one doubles specialist. But, Myneni was forced to withdraw from the squad due to fitness issues and has been replaced by Purav Raja. Bopanna and Raja will face the pairing of veteran Daniel Nestor and Pospisil. The 45-year-old Nestor has been representing Canada for 27 years and has several doubles records to his name. His partner Pospisil, who won the Wimbledon doubles title in 2014, is also one of Canada’s most successful David Cup players with a 16-14 win-loss record. However, Bopanna and Raja will be encouraged by the fact that this has been a year of struggles for the 27-year-old Pospisil. If the Indians manage to clinch the doubles rubber, Bhambri’s reverse singles fixture against the inexperienced Schnur could help India secure their place in the World Group. The tie in Edmonton is set to be an uphill task for the Indians, especially with the crowd waiting to cheer on their next big sporting star. But like captain Bhupathi said, the pressure will on the Canadians to win and the Indian players can use this an opportunity to play with freedom. If they stick to their strengths, India could on Sunday seal a long-awaited return to the World Group.