As expected on their home slow red clay, Romania took a 2-0 lead over Canada in their bid to qualify for the World Group in 2005, but their Friday opener was not as easy as expected.
Andrei Pavel, rebounding from a bad back that forced him to pull out of the US Open, rolled over Simon Larose 7-5, 6-3, 6-2 in the opener. But in the second singles, Canadian 19-year-old
Frank Dancevic took a one set lead over Victor Hanescu before the Romanian held out for an almost three-hour 5-7, 6-3, 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 win.
In the Saturday doubles, Romania's
Victor Ionita and
Florin Mergea will be the underdogs against the experienced Canadian squad of Daniel Nestor and
Frederic Niemeyer.
