In the end, Milos Raonic, he of stolid disposition and boundless determination, could not get it done Sunday in the gentlemen’s final at Wimbledon.
Raonic’s two-week run to a title shot ended on a downer. Scotland’s Andy Murray prevailed 6-4, 7-6 (3), 7-6 (2).
Still–and there are a lot of stills–Raonic got there, becoming the first Canadian male–and second Canadian–ever to make a Grand Slam final.
(His appearance follows by two years, Genie Bouchard’s straight-set loss to the Czech Republic’s Petra Kvitova in the 2014 women’s final.)
If the 25-year-old Raonic was unable to deliver a championship, a 17-year-old hotshot from Toronto did.
Denis Shapovalov, who looks like he should be hanging ten off Malibu, sped away with the Boy’s singles championship, coming from a set down to overpower Alex de Minaur of Australia in the best-of-three final 4-6, 6-1, 6-3.
Shapovalov became only the third Canadian to win a Grand Slam singles title as a junior.
Vancouver’s Filip Peliwo won Wimbledon and the U.S. Open in 2012 while Bouchard won the girl’s championship the same year.
It was Shapovalov’s second championship appearance of the weekend.
He and his partner, 15-year-old wunderkind Felix Auger-Aliassime of Quebec City, lost in the boy’s doubles final to Kenneth Raisma of Estonia and Stefanos Tsitsipas of Greece in three sets.
For some perspective on this year’s Wimbledon and the Canadian wins and losses, RCI spoke with Canadian journalist Stephanie Myles of Yahoo! Canada Sports.
Myles, who writes for Yahoo! Sports Canada and blog at @Open Court, spoke from Heath Row on Monday as she prepared to board a plane back to Montreal.
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