In a gritty, ankle-snapping performance to put Canada in its first ever Davis Cup final and eliminate Serbia, Vasek Pospisil fought off four match points and pulled off the kinds of shots that should have been winners. But the Canadian couldn’t drop, smash or slice his way past Janko Tipsarevic at Belgrade Arena Sept. 15 and in fact didn’t win a set. He lost 7-6 (3), 6-2, 7-6 (6) and Canada lost 3-2 to Serbia.
The national tennis team made a statement by reaching the semifinals for the first time, and Vernon-born, Vancouver-raised Pospisil, 23, showed his commitment when he tumbled to the red clay on the Serb’s match-winning shot, his ankle bending to its extreme as he fell. As the Serb athletes and fans rejoiced, Pospisil was helped to the bench and a towel was draped over his shoulders as he wiped his wet eyes. In a courtside interview after the match, Pospisil told Sportsnet’s Arash Madani his were tears of disappointment, not pain.
Two days earlier, Pospisl fell in the first rubber against world No. 1 Novak Djokovic but the following day with doubles partner Daniel Nestor, 41, defeated the Serbian pair in five electric sets that went four hours and 21 minutes. Teammate and highest-ranked Canadian player Milos Raonic defeated Tipsarevic Friday but in the reverse rubber Sunday afternoon, lost to Djokovic.
This year, 130 teams entered to Davis Cup and 16 advanced to the World Group for a knock-out tournament contested around the globe over four weekends. Serbia will compete in the final next month against the defending 2012 Davis Cup champions from the Czech Republic.
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