Canada vs. Slovak Republic

I - Preview of the matches (September 18, 1997)

The finest racquet-wielders Canada and Slovakia have to offer are preparing to lock horns on the indoor hard court of Montréal's Pavillon Bell. To the winner goes the thrill of participating in the élite World Group in the 1998 Davis Cup competition, while the loser must return to regional qualifying. Who says Davis Cup is too complex for mere mortals to understand?

This shapes up to be a classic confrontation, with Slovakia slightly favoured because of their players' superior singles ranking. However, Canada boasts a respectable team with strong doubles players, and will be boosted by throaty support from the home faithful.

My prediction: Slovakia will win 3-2. The Slovaks are stronger in singles, and should not be too disadvantaged by the fast surface. Canada's points should come from the doubles, where their players are world-class, and from Daniel Nestor's match against whomever is not Karol Kucera.

Having gone out on a shaky limb, I now invite you to take a closer look at the forces present in Montréal this week. Don't forget to check here daily for reports from Montréal!

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Canada

   Sébastien Lareau, Daniel Nestor & Grant Connell

    Barring an unthinkable catastrophe, Daniel Nestor (ranked #185) and Sébastien Lareau (#126) will play singles. None of the Canadian players have faced any members of the Slovakian side in their career.

    Nestor: Rankings aside, Daniel Nestor may be the most reliable singles player of the two. His serve and volley style lends itself well to the fast surface employed here, and he has been more solid in this year's Davis Cup play. His come-from-behind win over Mark Knowles of the Bahamas, after Lareau had lost to Knowles in the previous singles match, clinched a Davis Cup win in April. His hard, kicking lefty serve can be a great weapon when it is working, but the trick for Daniel is to get it working consistently. Nestor's physical conditioning and court movement have improved, but may still be suspect in a long match.

    Lareau: Although the Boucherville, Québec native enjoys the highest singles ranking on the Canadian squad, he has had some disappointing losses in Davis Cup in the last few years (to Bertrand Madsen in Haiti, to Jimy Szymanski in Venezuela, and to Knowles in Canada). He is mired in a deep slump on the ATP tour, having most recently lost in the US Open qualifying to lowly-ranked fellow Canadian Albert Chang. And he admits to sometimes being overwhelmed by the intensity of Davis Cup singles play, particularly in Canada where expectations are great. Lareau's serve has betrayed him frequently this year, and he has just returned from a visit to Hawaii to work on his service motion with teaching pro Peter Burwash. Lareau's strength is one of the most lethal return games in tennis, and he prefers to avoid long rallies.

    With three well-schooled doubles specialists at his disposal, captain Louis Cayer has several options when it comes to choosing a duo.
    We can be reasonably sure that Grant Connell (#69 in doubles) will compose one-half of the Canadian tandem. The 31-year-old Connell has been one of the premier doubles specialists of the 1990s, and this is perhaps his last pro event. Cayer seems impressed with Connell's current form despite a pronounced drop in the world rankings, and will be counting on the veteran left-hander's leadership, as well as Grant's desire to end his fine career in a blaze of glory.
    We will probably see Sébastien Lareau (#8 in doubles) team with Connell, as he has done against the Bahamas and Venezuela earlier this year. This for two reasons: Lareau allows for a lefty-righty combination, always prized in doubles; and Cayer will want to keep the  endurance-challenged Daniel Nestor (#18 in doubles) as fresh as possible for his return singles match. The Connell-Lareau pair looked quite sharp against the strong Bahamian  combo of Mark Knowles/Roger Smith earlier this season.
 

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Slovak Republic

   Dominik Hrbaty, Karol Kucera & Jan Kroslak  

    The Slovakian captain, former top-10 player Miroslav Mecir, has been coy about his opening singles lineup. While on paper Dominik Hrbaty (ranked #44) and Karol Kucera (#31) would be the logical choices, Jan Kroslak (#93) is a dangerous indoor player and could replace Hrbaty depending on how the players look in practice, according to Mecir.

Hrbaty: Still only 19 years old, Hrbaty came out of nowhere to rocket to #78 in the ATP rankings at the end of 1996. He then caught the eye of Joe Public by pushing Pete Sampras to five tough sets in the searing heat of the 1997 Australian Open. Hrbaty has since steadily progressed, reaching the semi-finals of a clay-court event just last week.
    However, Hrbaty has limited experience indoors and prefers to play on slow hard and clay courts. He has only played three indoor matches this year, losing two of them. Given the courts being used in Montréal, Hrbaty might be watching the singles matches from the sidelines if he fails to impress Mecir in practice sessions.

Kucera: The 23-year old Bratislava native is known to tennis afficionados. His style is a bit unorthodox, and he has had some excellent results on fast carpet and grass surfaces sprinkled throughout his career, thanks to an accurate serve and aggressive play. Kucera will likely anchor the team, playing singles and doubles.

Kroslak: Despite a singles ranking in the 90s, Kroslak has a fair chance to take part in at least one of the singles matches during this Davis Cup weekend. Why? During the spring indoor season earlier this year, Kroslak compiled one of the most impressive records of anyone, with a 10-2 won-loss record and two final appearances (Shanghai and St. Petersburg).
    Since then, however, Kroslak has not posted impressive results at all. Mecir will have to use the team's practice sessions in order to judge if Kroslak has sufficiently recovered his springtime form to warrant giving him a shot in singles.
 

It is anybody's guess who will play doubles for Slovakia, since the doubles records of all three players are similarly mediocre (Hrbaty is #180, Kucera #184, and Kroslak #237). My guess is that we will see Kucera team with whomever of Hrbaty or Kroslak does not play the Friday singles rubber, but Mecir is keeping his options open. Obviously, this is a point that Canada expects to win and that Slovakia would be absolutely thrilled to take.

On The Line will be on the scene all weekend, filing daily reports on the Davis Cup action from Montréal.
View report on the first day of play
View report on the second day of play
View report on the third day of play