Nestor, Pospisil keep Canada alive at Davis Cup
Canada staved off elimination in the Davis Cup on Saturday as Toronto's Daniel Nestor and Vasek Pospisil of Vernon, B.C., beat Ecuador's Roberto Quiroz and Emilio Gomez 7-6(4), 6-4, 7-5 in doubles play in the tournament's Americas Zone Group I second round tie in Ecuador.
Nestor and Pospisil were in a must-win situation as Canada trailed Ecuador 2-0 in the best-of-five tie before the match that was played on a clay court.
"The guys were great tonight and gave us exactly what we needed — the win," said Canada's captain Martin Laurendeau. "It is such a luxury to have a guy like Daniel Nestor who will fly all the way from Wimbledon to Ecuador to play Davis Cup for his country because he is so dedicated.
"He is also able to take our young guys like Vasek and teach them what it takes to win. Vasek showed a lot of poise tonight. I'm really happy with the effort."
Nestor, who increased his Davis Cup doubles record to 28-4, reinforced his standing as the No. 4 doubles player in the world. Pospisil is No. 121 in doubles.
Quiroz and Gomez started strong, forcing the Canadians to fight off three set points in the first set.
However, Pospisil's strong serve paired with Nestor's doubles experience helped them edge their opponents and provided the key first step in Canada's comeback attempt.
"This win is really good momentum for us," said Nestor. "They played very well but we won the big points early and got better and better as the match went on. This win gives us a chance to come out tomorrow and put up a good fight."
Sunday will see Pospisil — ranked No. 191 in singles play — take on Julio-Cesar Campozano.
If Pospisil wins and forces a decisive fifth match, Philip Bester will play Ivan Endara. Bester, from Vancouver, is ranked 229th on the ATP Tour.
The captains of both teams do have the ability to substitute their players up to an hour before the start of a match. Peter Polansky of Thornhill, Ont., is the fourth member of Canada's Davis Cup squad.
A win over Ecuador will advance Canada to a World Group playoff in September while a loss will keep them in the Americas Zone Group I for 2012.
Rising star Milos Raonic, also from Thornhill, was unable to play for Canada after having hip surgery on July 5. The No. 26 singles player in the world — and Canada's highest-ranked singles player — injured himself at Wimbledon.