CANADA FALLS TO ECUADOR 3-2 AT DAVIS CUP
Lapentti brothers secure victory and advance to second round against PeruCanada was defeated 3-2 by Ecuador in its best-of-five first round Davis Cup by BNP Paribas tie of the Americas Zone Group I. As a result of the win, Ecuador will advance to the second round against Peru in May with both teams playing for a chance to compete in a World Group playoff. Canada will face Uruguay to keep its position within Americas Zone Group I.
Canada had a 2-1 advantage heading into the final day of play after Frank Dancevic was triumphant in his singles rubber on Friday and Daniel Nestor and Frederic Niemeyer captured the doubles rubber on Saturday.
Dancevic, a native of Niagara Falls, Ontario, faced off with top Ecuadorean Nicolas Lapentti in a battle of the No.1 players that lasted four and a half hours in front of a sold-out crowd at the Centre of Excellence at Rexall Centre in Toronto. Lapentti, currently ranked No. 109 on the ATP World Tour, defeated Dancevic 6-3, 5-7, 4-6, 7-6(8), 6-1 to even the tie at two points all.
Lapentti saved three break points in the first game of the match, with both players looking focused and ready to put up a fight. Lapentti managed to break Dancevic’s second service game to give him the early advantage and first set 6-3.
Lapentti and Dancevic exchanged breaks to start the second set and then held serve steadily. It wasn’t until the 12th game that Dancevic was able to break Lapentti again, converting his third set point to take it 7-5. In the third, both Dancevic and Lapentti continued to look sharp. Dancevic was finally able to overcome Lapentti’s serve in the tenth game on his fourth set point to notch a 6-4 third set.
In the fourth, Dancevic started to cramp in his legs, causing him to take a medical time out while up 5-4. The set eventually went into an intense tie-break at 6-6 with long rallies which winded both players. Dancevic managed to give himself a 6-4 advantage in the tie-break and two match points to clinch the tie. But Lapentti was too good and used his heavy topspin forehand and strong serve to fight back and win the tie-break 8-6.
The fifth set was all Lapentti, who used his experience and mental toughness to oust Dancevic by a score of 6-1.
“I’m used to playing long matches in my career,” said Nicolas Lapentti after the victory. “I was strong mentally to stay in the match. Frank is a great player, but towards the end, experience counts and I had the stamina. I’ve been in this situation a thousand times. I’m very happy with how I played and how I hung in there.”
“It’s probably the worst experience of my life right now ever playing a tennis match,” said a dejected Dancevic after the loss. “I had two match points in the tie-break, I had the match in my hands. I wanted to win so badly and that’s why it hurts so much. I’m disappointed in myself. I’ve never been in this situation where I’ve had match points like that. It’s tough.”
The three-day competition ended with veteran Niemeyer (Sherbrooke, Quebec) playing against the younger Lapentti brother, Giovanni, in the winner-take-all finale. Giovanni Lapentti was victorious, winning 2-6, 7-6(5), 6-3, 6-3 to secure the win for Ecuador.
Canada will now play Uruguay in a first round playoff from July 10-12, 2009 to keep its position inside Americas Zone Group I.
