Canada looks to win again at Billie Jean King Cup

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Longtime Canadian women’s tennis captain Heidi El Tabakh could sense that Leylah Fernandez was going to be a special player from a young age.

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She remembers slotting her in for a debut Fed Cup appearance in 2019 against Czech star Marketa Vondrousova when the Canadian was just 16.

“Vondrousova was on her way up and Leylah lost a close one,” El Tabakh recalled. “I remember her being devastated and crying afterwards. As captain, I was very happy with her effort. But it showed me what she’s made of and what she believed she could have done at 16 years old.

“I knew at that moment this girl was different. She had a great future ahead of her.”

Fernandez, who would reach the U.S. Open final two years later, avenged the loss in last year’s semifinal of the tournament now known as the Billie Jean King Cup.

Canada beat Czechia 2-1 before topping Italy 2-0 to win the women’s team event for the first time.

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Fernandez, who went 5-0 last year in Seville, Spain, is back to help anchor the Canadian side at the 12-team playdowns in Malaga. She’s joined on the roster by Marina Stakusic of Mississauga, Ont., Vancouver’s Rebecca Marino and doubles star Gabriela Dabrowski of Ottawa.

The competition is taking place alongside the men’s team event _ the Davis Cup — on the indoor hardcourt at the Palacio de Deportes Jose Maria Martin Carpena Arena.

The Canadian women have a first-round bye and will play Britain or Germany in the quarterfinals on Sunday.

“It’s a great feeling walking in and being recognized as defending champions,” El Tabakh said. “We’re obviously coming in with confidence but we also know that it takes hard work and a lot of effort and guts to defend the title.”

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Fernandez, from Laval, Que., is the highest-ranked Canadian singles player at No. 31. Marino is ranked 102nd and Stakusic holds the No. 127 position.

Bianca Andreescu of Mississauga, Ont., the world No. 132, was originally named to the roster but pulled out earlier this month, citing rest and recovery after an injury-plagued season.

Dabrowski is ranked third in the world in doubles. She recently won the WTA Finals crown with New Zealand’s Erin Routliffe.

“I know we’re a very tough team to beat but at the same time we’re going up against the best in the world,” El Tabakh said. “It’s definitely going to be a tough challenge but we’re looking forward to it.”

The Canadian men, meanwhile, will open play Wednesday against Germany. The Davis Cup Finals is an eight-team competition — called the Final 8 — that continues through Nov. 24.

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Denis Shapovalov of Richmond Hill, Ont., and Montreal’s Gabriel Diallo will likely be tasked with singles duty.

Montreal’s Felix Auger-Aliassime, who helped lead the 2022 squad to Canada’s lone Davis Cup title, pulled out last month to focus on his philanthropic work.

Milos Raonic of Thornhill, Ont., replaced him on a roster that also includes Vasek Pospisil of Vernon, B.C., and Alexis Galarneau of Laval, Que. Pospisil and Shapovalov are expected to get the doubles assignment in the opening best-of-three tie.

Shapovalov rose 22 positions to No. 56 in the singles rankings after winning an ATP 250 title in Belgrade this month. The six-foot-eight Diallo, the world No. 86, reached his first ATP final last month at a 500-level tournament in Almaty, Kazakhstan.

“It’s just really good momentum for us,” said Canadian men’s captain Frank Dancevic. “It sends a message to the other team that we’ve got players that are coming in hot.

“So I think that’s very positive from our side. And our doubles is always strong.”

The German side is led by 43rd-ranked Jan-Lennard Struff and the formidable doubles tandem of Kevin Krawietz and Tim Puetz.

Canada beat Australia in the 2022 final. Italy won the tournament last year.

“Winning the Davis Cup was so massive for the team,” Dancevic said. “The guys have an inner belief and I can feel that.”

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