Before there was Milos Raonic, there was Frank Dancevic.

Six years ago, he was the next big thing in Canadian men’s tennis. Flying up the rankings. Beating a then-fifth-ranked Andy Roddick (Roddick complained of a stomach bug). Taking a set off world No. 2 Rafael Nadal in Montreal.

John McEnroe talked up a 22-year-old Dancevic after his run to the final of Indianapolis in the summer of 2007. And the following year, Dancevic upset No. 7 David Nalbandian in the opening round at Wimbledon.

It was Dancevic who was supposed to erase Greg Rusedski from the collective memory of Canadian tennis fans, wipe the converted Brit’s name from all those lists — last Canadian to win an ATP event, highest-ranked Canadian men’s player ever.

Raonic has since done a fine job of all that.

Dancevic, a native of Niagara Falls, Ont., reached No. 65 in Sept., 2007, and has rarely been at his physical peak since.

He had back surgery in Dec., 2009, to repair a herniated disc that had bothered him for two years.

He retired in the first round of the U.S. Open in 2011 with a hamstring pull and in the first round of the French Open in 2012 with lingering pain from another back injury.

He’s even had a bad case of bronchitis, and nothing ever seems to come at a good time, if there’s such a thing.

Raonic’s meteoric rise the last two years has rendered Dancevic even more of an afterthought. And on a Davis Cup team that features Raonic (the star), Daniel Nestor (the legend) and Vancouver’s Vasek Pospisil (the local), Dancevic has been the forgotten man heading into this weekend’s first-round World Group tie against Spain at UBC.

Yet, this could well be the stage for Dancevic’s career-defining moment.

Neither captain would be surprised if it all came down the fifth and final rubber on Sunday. Based on Thursday’s draw, that would be Dancevic, ranked 166th, against the left-handed Albert Ramos, ranked 51st.

“We all know what Frank is capable of doing,” Canadian captain Marty Laurendeau said this week. “Frank’s been playing good tennis. Through a few injuries last year, he still managed to get good results and a good ranking for what happened to him.”

During this Davis Cup resurgence for Canada, a few players have taken their turn in the spotlight.

In July, 2011, it was North Vancouver’s Philip Bester winning the deciding rubber to get past Ecuador on the road.

Later that summer, Pospisil won three matches in three gruelling days in Israel to lift Canada back into the World Group.

Dancevic knows that feeling, too.

In Calgary in 2003, an 18-year-old Dancevic, ranked 207th, upset Brazil’s Flavio Saretta in the fifth rubber to book Canada’s ticket into the World Group for the first time in a decade.

Saretta was ranked 44th.

“I love playing Davis Cup,” said Dancevic, who missed the Israel tie during a tense time between him and Laurendeau, but returned for the France tie last February.

“I’ve been a part of the team for 10 years and it’s an amazing feeling to be able to win for your country and to win, especially, key matches like that [against Saretta].

“Back then, it was a big deal for me. I’d only played a couple of ties and ended up winning a key match and it was a huge boost in confidence. It was just an amazing feeling to be a Canadian, to be a part of the team.”

Dancevic, 28, and Ramos, a 25-year-old from Barcelona, have never faced each other.

Ramos was ranked as high as No. 38 in May of last year but almost all of those gains came on clay. He’s struggled on hard courts, going 11-25 in his career, and 0-3 this year in Doha, Auckland and the Australian Open.

This is also his first Davis Cup appearance as Spain is without its top four singles players due to injury and scheduling decisions.

Dancevic is 10-4 on hard courts and carpets in his Davis Cup career — and the court at UBC is playing even faster than it did against France.

But if this tie does go down to the wire Sunday, the crowd, as much as anything, could be a factor. Of all the Canadian players, it was Dancevic who showed the most intensity and desire to play to the crowd against France.

It was a tough assignment to say the least. Not just facing a top-10 player in Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, but playing for fans who were learning, as they arrived, that Raonic wouldn’t be on the bill.

Dancevic played well for two sets but was rolled in the third against Tsonga.

“I’m feeling pretty confident about my game, especially playing indoors last week on a similar surface and a similar atmosphere,” said Dancevic, who made the third round of a Challenger in Germany. “Well, it’s not going to be quite the same atmosphere with the crowd.

“The crowd’s going to be behind us and we’re a team that’s going to fight together for every point and put everything on the line.”

Laurendeau said come Friday “it’s about guts and heart and getting the job done.”

Dancevic certainly has some fight in him. In 2011, he became the only player in tennis history to play through qualifying and reach all four Grand Slams in the same year.

He said he needs a few months and a few good matches to get back into the top 100, where he, and many others, believe he belongs.

All Canada needs from him this weekend, though, is a one-off moment. Like Saretta, or Roddick, or Nalbandian.

Depending on the situation, it could be a moment that lasts a lifetime.

mweber@theprovince.com

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