Polansky stakes Canada to 1-0 lead

TORONTO -- Peter Polansky and Milos Raonic got Canada off to a winning start in its Davis Cup Americas Zone Group I tie with the Dominican Republic on Friday.

Polansky, ranked No. 176 in the world, defeated Jhonson Garcia 7-6(4), 4-6, 6-3, 6-3 in the opening match of the best-of-five tie. Then Ranoic needed more than three hours to dispatch Dominican No. 1 Victor Estrella 5-7, 6-2, 3-6, 7-6 (3), 9-7.

Toronto's Daniel Nestor and Frank Dancevic of Niagara Falls, Ont., can cement the tie for Canada with a win in doubles over the Dominican tandem of Luis Delgado and Jose Hernandez on Saturday.

The winner of the tie maintains its spot in Americas Zone Group I, which is one tier below the 16-country World Group. The loser will be relegated to Americas Zone Group II.

"(Garcia) was playing this junk game, giving me a lot of slices, a lot of high balls and then some slow ones, and it was tough for me to adapt to," Polansky said.

But the native of Thornhill, Ont., found his rhythm by being the aggressor and putting more pressure on the 29-year-old Garcia.

"I think I was, kind of, being more aggressive in the third and fourth," he said. "In the end, I should've been more aggressive on a more regular basis."

Raonic, also of Thornhill, entered his contest with just three Davis Cup matches under his belt and having never played a five-set affair. Making use of his six-foot-four frame and booming first save the Canadian was able to secure the victory.

And while he looked tired following the match, Raonic clearly hadn't lost his sense of humour.

"Maybe I wanted to break some records here," he said jokingly in reference to the historic John Isner-Nicolas Mahut marathon at Wimbledon earlier this year. "I was feeling 72-70."

On Sunday, Polansky takes on Estrella in singles, with Raonic scheduled to meet Garcia.

Polansky had to endure some tricky elements during his match, played on the grandstand court at Rexall Centre. There was the cold, windy weather as well as noise from a group of schoolchildren sitting in the upper portions of the stadium.

"The atmosphere was for sure a little different," said Polansky. "I think they were cheering just to cheer ... but I think it's good for them to see and to be there for a match like that."