Spain have found themselves in the unusual position of contemplating a Davis Cup play-off tie to secure their status in the elite World Group after the weakened top seeds were dumped out inthe first round by Canada on Sunday night.

Milos Raonic sealed Canada’s first passage to the quarter-finals with victory over Guillermo Garcia-Lopez, drafted into the side in the absence of Rafa Nadal, David Ferrer and Nicolas Almagro.

Nadal is returning from seven months out with a knee injury in Chile this week, while Ferrer and Almagro were unavailable after gruelling runs to the last four and last eight of last month’s Australian Open respectively.

Spain captain Alex Corretja said he respected players’ desire to recuperate rather than add to their packed calendars.

“Players are on their own to decide if they want to play or want to rest,” Corretja said.

“It’s not like we were underestimating Canada... not at all,” he added.

“Our players didn’t come because their calendars are very busy and they chose another option but we have no regrets about the ones who didn’t come or the ones who were here.”

Spain’s defeat on the indoor hard court in Vancouver means they will have to wait until April’s draw to discover their opponents for September’s play-off.

Quarter-finals (April 5-7)
Canada vs Italy; Serbia vs US; France vs Argentina; Kazakhstan vs Czech Republic.