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Canada's Milos Raonic, of Toronto, Ont., celebrates after defeating Japan's Tatsuma Ito in straight sets during a Davis Cup singles match in Vancouver, B.C., on Friday March 6, 2015.DARRYL DYCK/The Canadian Press

Each year, as Canada climbs in international tennis, what constitutes success ratchets higher.

And so it is in the Davis Cup, the long-standing barometer of a country's place in the global game. It is a measure that stretches to 1900, when the first Davis Cup was staged as a competition between the United States and Britain. Since the early 1990s, more than 100 countries have vied for the trophy.

Canada, through the vast majority of Davis Cup history, was a nobody. Before its recent rise, Canada managed to reach the elite World Group tier of the 16 top countries only three times in three decades.

The World Group has become the minimum standard. As Canada plays this weekend in the first round for the fourth consecutive year, taking on Japan, the true measure of success is another deep run in the tournament that stretches over the course of the year. And this time, Canada is primed, potentially on the cusp.

In 2013, Canada, led by Milos Raonic and underpinned by the ageless doubles ace, Daniel Nestor, set the standard, making it past the first round for the first time, defeating Spain and then Italy before succumbing to Serbia on the road in the semi-finals.

Canada opened strong on Friday afternoon. Raonic plowed by Tatsuma Ito in straight sets, 6-2, 6-1, 6-2 – Raonic clearly comfortable on his favourite surface, a zippy hard court with not much bounce. The partisan crowd in Vancouver, many in red and waving flags, was raucous as Raonic piled in 17 aces and was not often challenged by Ito, ranked No. 85 in the world compared with Raonic's No. 6 standing.

"You send a message," Raonic said afterward on Friday of the dominant performance.

The weekend's likely key match is set for early afternoon Sunday, when Raonic faces his rival, Kei Nishikori, the No. 4 player who has defeated Raonic three times in five meetings in the past 10 months. The likeliest scenario is Canada's up 2-1 at that point in the best-of-five competition. Nishikori took on Vasek Pospisil late Friday, where Japan was favoured and Nishikori won an at times closely contested match 6-4, 7-6 (5), 6-3.

A first-round loss, at home, would be a blow, letting a moment slip away when it is in one's grasp. Canada's ascent, so strong this decade, would be stalled. A year ago, Canada lost to Japan in Tokyo in the first round – but Canada had a second-string roster on the court, as Raonic and Pospisil were out with injuries. This year becomes the true measure of Canada's progress internationally.

While the Davis Cup is a team contest, it is also one of stars. The stakes and Canada's standing were obvious this week as the meeting approached. The structure of the Davis Cup, the odd scheduling, squeezed in between, before and after big tournaments, has been long criticized by players, but it is a principal place where the best gauge themselves as team leaders in what is mostly an individual sport.

Carrying a country to the title is something most of the best have done in recent years. Roger Federer and Stan Wawrinka seized the title for Switzerland last year – the two played every match, including doubles. It was the one major accolade in tennis that had eluded Federer.

Czech Republic – led by Tomas Berdych – won in 2012 and 2013. Spain, with Rafael Nadal, won in 2009 and 2011 – and 2008 without Nadal. Novak Djokovic and Serbia won in 2010. In 2007, Andy Roddick, and the Bryan twins in doubles, carried the United States to victory. Among this era's elite players, only Andy Murray hasn't made a deep run, though he has lifted Britain out of Davis Cup obscurity and into last year's World Group second round, in which Britain lost to Italy.

Raonic, 24, is well aware of this milieu. He is a student of the game, its history and his place in it. He relishes the Davis Cup. When Canada defeated Italy in 2013 in Vancouver to break through to the semi-finals, Raonic was ebullient, bellowing: "We're not done yet." Canada could not, however, overcome Serbia.

"I'm here because I want to be here," Raonic said on Thursday, responding to critics who have wrongly questioned his commitment to Canada and the Davis Cup. For him, this matters – a lot. He absolutely wants to lodge his name and Canada's in the Davis Cup annals. "I want to succeed at this event and I want to succeed representing Canada."

This year can be Canada's Davis Cup moment. Raonic, who was ranked No. 29 in 2012, when Canada lost to France in the first round, has entered his prime. Pospisil rose as high as No. 25 last year and can battle with top players. The ageless Nestor, paired with Pospisil, is crucial ballast in doubles. Nestor at 42 is Canada's best-ever Davis Cup player. It's been central to his game for two decades since he upended world No. 1 Stefan Edberg in singles in Vancouver in 1992. "Davis Cup is one of the reasons I keep playing," Nestor said Tuesday.

Canada has the advantage in a tight meeting against Japan and the next round would be on the road, either in Belgium, where Canada would have the edge, or Switzerland, of which its roster this year, for the first round at least, does not include Federer or Wawrinka.

And then it could likely be Serbia, at home this time – perhaps on a big stage at Air Canada Centre in Toronto – a meeting that would be played, regardless of venue, on a fast hard court rather than the clay on which Serbia defeated Canada 3-2 in 2013. Canada had been up 2-1, but Raonic and Pospisil lost in singles on the final day.

Canada's climb has been years in the making. Raonic and company can prove the ascent has a ways higher to go.

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