The first round of the 2015 Davis Cup “World Group” stage begins this Friday, and of the 16 teams who have made it this far, France is the 2/1 favorite at press time to win the most prestigious international team event in men’s tennis. Serbia is second at 9/4, followed by Canada and the Czech Republic at 11/2. France hasn’t won the Davis Cup since 2001, but after making it all the way to the final last year, hopes are high for this year’s team. Unfortunately, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (forearm) is unavailable for the first-round matchup with Germany (33/1). Gael Monfils will join Gilles Simon, Richard Gasquet and Nicolas Mahut in Frankfurt, facing off against a German squad featuring World’s No. 25 Philipp Kohlschreiber. Canada has a relatively easy draw and the presence of both Milos Raonic and Vasek Pospisil. They’ll also have home-court advantage this weekend in Vancouver when they face Japan (50/1), who eliminated Canada 4-1 last year when Raonic and Pospisil were unavailable. Canada’s path to the title got easier when Roger Federer decided not to join the defending champions from Switzerland (7/1), who project to meet Canada in the quarterfinals after taking on Belgium (50/1).
