Not On Our Court Says Raonic and Pospisil

(February 11, 2012) Canada.

Saying the name conjures up many images. Hockey. Beer. That CN Tower in Toronto. Bryan Adams. Beer.

But not tennis.

That isn't to say Canadians haven't produced their fair share of tennis pros over the years. Carling Bassett was a decent women's player back in the 80's. Greg Rusedski was born in Canada but chose to play professionally for Great Britain so he sort of counts. And then of course, there's Daniel Nestor who at age 39 is still one of the world's best doubles players and is on his country's Davis Cup team as they face France this week. But as far as top flight singles players goes, it's been a long, long wait for someone, somewhere to emerge out of the Great White North.

And then in 2010, a glimmer of hope twinkled like a bright star on a clear Saskatchewan night. At the Rogers Cup, Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal teamed up to form a marquee doubles pairing that was sure to give fans attending that night a match to remember. Their opponents? A pair of local lads who were expected to try their best but lose to the now near-legendary superstars. Undaunted, the boys went ahead and not only battled Djokovic and Nadal into a final set super tiebreak, they won.

Their names? Milos Raonic and Vasek Pospisil.

Now those two boys are leading their nation against the deep talent of France this week in Vancouver in a World Group match that not only has Canada back in the elite tier of Davis Cup for only the fourth time in their nation's history, but also sees Raonic and Pospisil bearing all of the burden of not just representing their nation but giving their country hope that yes, it can excel in a sport that doesn't involve skating or playing a football game with only three downs. Since this tie was scheduled, the pair have been ready for the Frenchies letting them know through various means that they were stepping onto their turf. From the poster of Pospisil aka "the horse" telling "les Bleus" that Vancouver was his hometown and "your worst nightmare" while Raonic, sometimes called "the missile" by fast-talking tennis analyst Brad Gilbert, had a picture of himself draped in the Canadian flag staring ahead with a snarl as his Twitter avatar.

If Raonic's sneering avi and massive 220K serve didn't have France's Davis Cup captain Guy Forget worried, trying to figure out why Pospisil was called "horse" probably kept him up a few sleepless nights.

The young guns know they're underdogs going against the likes of Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Gael Monfils, but that's the way they like it. Pospisil is used to the pressure as he single-handedly carried his team on his back in September as he won three rubbers against Israel that made him something of a folk hero back in his native British Columbia. But even with schoolchildren reciting the history of Pospisil's efforts last year, if Canada has any hope against France, it all depends on Raonic, who even though he's only 21, has become the leader and spokesmen of the team not only because of his more potent game but probably due to his overuse of the word "respect" when discussing how he wants his opponents to treat him. And Milos deserves it, especially as he's man enough to go out on court on a daily basis wearing shorts three sizes too small for him.

As of writing this, Canada and France are tied at 1-1 with the doubles rubber today becoming a must win for Team Maple Leaf who have a chance since they have the king of the net crouch Daniel Nestor on their side. But even if fans break out singing "O Canada" after a win today, the duty of pulling out an improbable victory this weekend rests with Raonic and Pospisil who are not only hoping to inspire a nation to put down their hockey sticks and pick up their racquets, but prove to the rest of the world, that Canada is here to stay as a tennis power, even if their future hopefuls spend most of their time training indoors or in parkas once they venture onto their outdoor courts dusted with snow.

They might go down fighting, but the "Missile" and the "Horse" will know in their hearts that they gave it their all and that they have achieved two very important things for themselves and their country. One, is that more people will have learned how to say their names correctly, and two, that the next time you hear the word Canada, you just might, might think of tennis.

After hockey and beer.