It could have been a great double match, given the pedigree of the players involved, but the show lacked pathos as each couple was very effective at taking care of their serve (three breaks in 45 games) and the three tie-breaks played were all one-sided. Eventually the Dominic Inglot and Jamie Murray outlasted a beat up Pospisil and the 44-year-old Nestor at his 50th Davis Cup tie in career with a 7-6(1) 6-7(3) 7-6(3) 6-3 win in 3 hours, 8 minutes putting Great Britain firmly in the lead ahead of Sunday’s reverse singles.
“They were a little bit better throughout the whole match – said a very disappointed Nestor after the defeat – I could not return the way I wanted, I didn’t make a good return on the set point we had in the first set and also on all other openings we had in their service game”. Nestor’s serve was the first one to wobble at 3-3 as three consecutive missed volley gifted the Brits with the first break point of the match. A sequence of three smashes erased that chance, as fifteen minutes later another smash canceled the set point for the Canadians at 6-5 on Inglot’s serve. The tie-break was a washout, with Nestor conceding both points on his serve and the whole thing being over in just four minutes.
Despite the absence of the superstars Andy Murray and Raonic, the crowd was filling the stands by almost three-quarters and the atmosphere was warm and hyped despite the freezing temperatures outside and the absence of one of the most exciting features of modern tennis. Hawk-Eye could not be used during the entire afternoon due to some blind spots created in the system by the organization try to sort out the surface earlier in the day to eliminate some air bubbles that had been trapped underneath the carpet.
Jamie Murray surprisingly lost his serve in the opening game of the second set, giving the Canadian couple and early lead, but a good return game by Inglot on Nestor’s serve leveled the score at 4-4, with the subsequent tie-break being an all red-and-white matter with Pospisil hitting a winning return on Murray’s serve on the first point and the Scot double faulting at 2-5 to give the home team an unassailable lead.
As the match progressed, it was Pospisil’s serve that became increasingly under attack, as the 26-year-old energy levels started to fade (he was the only one on court who had played the day before) and the pain to his aching knee forced him to take a MTO at the beginning of the fourth set. Vasek had revealed to Canadian TV Sportsnet that he had slept very little the previous night (“every time I was moving I woke up”) and that he was playing under pain killers for his knee. The first break-point at 2-2 came and went as Inglot missed a forehand volley; on Pospisil’s subsequent service game at 4-4 the Canadians had to dig themselves out of a 15-40 hole with a smash and a winning serve. These were the only three break points of the set, concluded with another washout in the tie-break as the Brits sprinted to 4-0 and 6-1 before closing on 7-3.
With Nestor holding his own on his serve but failing to make an impact on return, Pospisil continued his struggle during his service game as he started the sixth game with a double fault, dug himself a hole to 0-40 and eventually surrendered to a powerful Inglot return on the third of the break-points. This was the nail in the coffin for the Canadians, who now go into reverse singles Sunday (starting at noon ET hoping to finish in time for SuperBowl kickoff) with their back to the wall and an injured player: “I will see what the injury is, but if I can take care of this nagging pain tonight I am definitely playing tomorrow against Evans. I have plenty left in the tank to play five sets if necessary” said Pospisil in his press conference in English, with his take appearing somehow less optimistic a few minutes later when he answered questions in French: “It’s not just my decision to play tomorrow or not, I need to hear what the physio and the doctor say. Today I played with pain killers, which is not good for my health, but if there is no risk to worsen the damage I’ll take the court against Evans; however if there is a chance I may increase the damage I need to be smart and make a decision to safeguard the next weeks and months and the rest of the season”.
