Dancevic well worth watching
By MIKE ULMER -- Toronto Sun
When Frank Dancevic's dad, John, came to Canada from what was then Yugoslavia, he had a couple of hundred bucks in his pocket.
Yesterday, Frank was juggling telephone interviews from Pearson Airport, having found fame playing Davis Cup tennis versus Brazil in a rodeo barn in Calgary.
Yes, the Canadian Dream can take a great many forms.
Safe to say that when he booked this flight to a $50,000 tournament in San Antonio, Frank Dancevic didn't figure to be spending his layover briefing the media on how it feels to be Frank Dancevic.
Ladies and gentlemen, today's focus is on a a 19-year-old tennis player from Niagara Falls, a 6-foot-2 right-hander with nasty groundstrokes, a powerful serve-and-volley option and no discernible fear.
He has absolutely nothing to lose. Literally. He had $15 in his pocket, or $185 less than his dad brought to Canada 30 years ago. Ask any 19-year-old how much money he or she has in hand. Fifteen bucks is about right.
"Yeah, I'm poor," Dancevic said with a laugh when asked to name the assets he had on him.
Poor in everything, that is, but friends.
An 11th-hour last-minute replacement for a worn-out Daniel Nestor, Dancevic pushed Canada into the 16-team Davis Cup world group with a stirring four-set win Sunday over Brazil's Flavio Saretta at the Stampede Corral.
"It was really special for me and hopefully for Canadian tennis," he said. "For the match to be played in Canada and for it to be a decisive match, it was a great thrill."
Dancevic has broken into the ATP's top 200 but he gives little time to the notion of setting his sights on statistical standards.
"I haven't set any goals. All I want to do is go out and play my game, rip the ball and whatever happens, happens."
Given the relatively low status accorded to tennis players who don't wear skirts or pose for Maxim (all you who recognized the name Flavio Saretta please step forward) it speaks to our need to venerate winners that Dancevic is hot news.
Any day now, some sports drone will hand him a nickname. Hey, how about Northern Dancer. Just a thought.
Anyway, the previous time a male player garnered this much attention, Nestor became an overnight darling by knocking off Stefan Edberg in a 1992 Davis Cup match.
Nestor has since fashioned a superb living and even garnered an Olympic gold medal in Sydney in the doubles game. That said, doubles tennis resonates in the heart of the sporting consumer the same way the XFL did.
But a skinny, baseline-scorching singles player, that is another matter.
"I think he'll be one of the best men in the next two or three years," Dancevic's coach, John Sorbo, said. "He has two great weapons, his serve and his forehand, and no weaknesses."
The two hooked up six years ago. "Right out of the blue," the 40-year-old Sorbo said. "A friend of mine said, 'I just saw the best kid to come along in Canadian tennis in 25 years.' "
Sorbo and Dancevic met at the Richmond Hill Tennis and Country Club. From the very first stroke, Sorbo recognized a prodigy
"That first warmup, it must have lasted 200 shots without stop. I knew right then."
Dancevic is blessed with one more talent. Ambition. He picked up the game when he was seven, played the usual soccer and hockey and then jettisoned the others for tennis early in his teens.
"He was very serious about his tennis even before I met him," Sorbo said. "Even before he was with me, when he was 12, 13, he trained and thought like a professional."
Now, he has stamped himself as one worth watching, the Canadian public will wait for more great things from a well-spoken, nicely scrubbed 19-year-old named Frank Dancevic.
We will love the Northern Dancer, win or tie.
