The match itself was a dud. The event was historic. (Though a whole lot less historic than another event Canadians participated in: the burning of the White House in the War of 1812.)
Two Canadians, Milos Raonic and long-time rival Vasek Pospisil, met in the finals of Washington’s Citi Open tennis tournament, an Association of Tennis Professionals Tour 500 tournament taking place six kilometres from the White House.
It marked the first time since tennis’s Open Era began in 1968 that two Canadians faced each other in an ATP final.
Those hoping for a repeat of their semi-final match at last year’s Rogers Cup final in Montreal, won in a third-set tie-break by Raonic, could only walk away disappointed.
Pospisil, exhausted by very hard-won earlier round matches, lacking his usual pizzazz and magnificent footwork, failed to generate anything resembling a challenge. Raonic was his usual stolid self, delivering bombs from the service line and completely overwhelming the usually effervescent Pospisil 6-1, 6-4.
Still, it did provide a microcosmic snapshot of Canada: emotions staying in check, not a lot of excitement, plenty of good sportsmanship. Good Canadian values all.
But then Canadian athletes–with the exceptions of a few flashy hockey players and Larry Walker–tend to play that way.
At the end of the day, Raonic moved up one notch in the ATP rankings, to number six, and Pospisil, moved up nine places to 27
Both are now in Toronto for the Rogers Cup, a higher-calibre tournament. If the two meet again in Toronto, it will be the finals. Each is in a separate half of the draw.
For some perspective on Sunday’s events, RCI spoke with Stephanie Myles who writes for Yahoo Sports Canada’s Eh Game. Her OpenCourt blog is a must for Canadian tennis lovers.
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