Canadian tennis stars ready to hit the grass at Wimbledon
The 131st edition of The Championships are set to begin on Monday at Wimbledon.
Among the many players from around the world will be a handful of Canadian tennis stars ready for the challenge.
Milos Raonic reaches for the ball against Andy Murray at Wimbledon final on July 10, 2016.
In the men’s singles, Canadians hope to see a strong performance from Milos Raonic who was the runner-up in the tournament last year. Raonic has eight career ATP titles under his belt, but is in the hunt to win his first Grand Slam. He will be the sixth seed, opening on Tuesday against German Jan-Lennard Struff who is ranked 50th in the world. Raonic is in the same quarter as Roger Federer, who he defeated in last year’s semifinals.
Also competing in the men’s singles will be 18-year-old Denis Shapovalov, who was awarded a wild card for the main draw after winning the junior boys’ Wimbledon title last year. His first round opponent on Monday will be Poland’s Jerzy Janowicz, ranked 141st.
Denis Shapovalov of Canada kisses the trophy after winning the boys’ singles final against Alex De Minaur of Australia at the All England Lawn Tennis Championships in Wimbledon, London, Sunday, July 10, 2016. (AP Photo/Tim Ireland)
Competing in both the men’s doubles and singles is Vasek Pospisil. The two-time Olympian is currently Canada’s number two singles player and will open on Tuesday against eighth seed Dominic Thiem of Austria. In 2014, Pospisil and his then-partner, American Jack Sock, won the men’s doubles championship at Wimbledon. With six career doubles titles to his credit, he will be playing this year’s Wimbledon with Julien Benneteau of France.
Daniel Nestor, who has been competing at Wimbledon for more than two decades, will be playing doubles alongside Fabrice Martin of France. The 2000 Olympic gold medallist has captured eight Grand Slam doubles titles, including two at Wimbledon in 2008 and 2009.
The third Canadian man in the doubles’ draw is Adil Shamasdin who will be competing with Leander Peas of India.
Eugenie Bouchard of Canada serves to Dominika Cibulkova of Slovakia during their women’s singles match on day six of the Wimbledon Tennis Championships in London, Saturday, July 2, 2016. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis)
On the women’s side, Eugenie Bouchard will be competing in the singles. She was the runner-up at Wimbledon in 2014, making her the first Canadian player to reach a Grand Slam singles final. That same year she became the first Canadian singles player, male or female, to be ranked in the top five worldwide. Currently ranked 61st in the world, her first round match will be on Monday against 25th-seeded Spaniard Carla Suarez Navarro.
Bouchard will be joined in the singles draw by a pair of qualifiers. Bianca Andreescu and Francoise Abanda both made it into the main draw after posting wins on Friday.
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In the women’s doubles, one to watch will be Ottawa native Gabriela Dabrowski who recently took home her first Grand Slam title with a mixed doubles win at the French Open. This win made her the first Canadian woman to win a Grand Slam.
This year’s Wimbledon will run through July 16.
