Tennis has, historically, been an afterthought when thinking about Canadian sport. In 2014, however, tennis came to the very forefront and managed to capture the imagination of the country.
Montreal’s Eugenie Bouchard entered the year as a rising force within women’s tennis and finished it as a bonafide superstar. She made Canadian tennis history multiple times in 2014 — that, coupled with the continued progress of Milos Raonic and Vasek Pospisil, the sport of tennis is in the national conversation again. Here are sportsnet.ca’s biggest tennis stories of 2014.
McIlroy breaks off engagement with Wozniacki (May 21)
Former world No. 1 Caroline Wozniacki and current world No. 1 golfer Rory McIlroy were engaged and had just sent out the wedding invitations when McIlroy dropped a bomb by ending the engagement and relationship. In a statement, McIlroy said he “wasn’t ready for all that marriage entails.” Seeing how the North Irishman drank Jagermeister out of the Claret Jug after winning the Open Championship, it’s safe to say he was probably righ. As for Wozniacki? She’s just happy that she can date someone taller now.
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Bouchard falls to Sharapova in French Open semi (Jun. 5)
Following her first WTA title in Nuremburg, Bouchard walked onto the red clay of Roland Garros red hot. She made an inspired run to the semifinal where she lost to her tennis idol, Maria Sharapova, in a thrilling three-set affair. Following the win, Sharapova took a slight jab at Bouchard, saying that she still managed to win even though she wasn’t at he best, while the Montreal native was. Needless to say, Sharapova came off as a bit of a sore winner and the internet reacted accordingly.
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Joe Fleming on Twitter
Bouchard makes Canadian tennis history (Jul. 3)
No Canadian singles player had ever had the privilege of playing on Wimbledon’s famed Centre Court in a final since the tournament’s inception in 1877. Bouchard did it this year following a 7-6, 6-2 victory over French Open runner-up Simona Halep in the Wimbledon semifinals. This was a watershed moment in Canadian tennis history and was celebrated appropriately across this great land.
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Stephen Harper on Twitter
Bouchard hoping she caught Justin Bieber’s eye (Jul. 3)
Following an Australian Open match this year, Bouchard was asked the odd question of who her dream date would be and her answer was controversial pop star Justin Bieber. Flash-forward to her historic win at Wimbledon and the topic of Bieber was asked again (for some reason) and a smiling Bouchard said she hoped he was taking notice of her run and “if he cleans up his image” she would give him a shot. Some guys have all the luck.
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Original post-match interview from the Australian Open:
The All-Canadian final (Aug. 3)
In the wake of “Genie-mania” the accomplishments of the Canadian men were a little overshadowed. That is until more Canadian tennis history was set at the Citi Open where we saw the first ever all-Canadian final between Raonic and Pospisil. Both men were gearing up for what they hoped would be an excellent Rogers Cup on home turf and Pospisil, in particular, was trying to ride the doubles success he found at Wimbledon – winning the title with partner Jack Sock – into sustained singles success. In the end, Raonic triumphed, but man was it cool to see an all-Canuck final.
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Canadians slip up at Rogers Cup (Aug. 4-10)
Coming into the Rogers Cup, expectations were high for the big three Canadian singles players. Bouchard hadn’t played since her Wimbledon run and Raonic and Pospisil were fresh off a first-ever all-Canadian final. In the end, the Canadian contingent disappointed — Bouchard and Pospisil were both bounced in the first round — but the tournaments still produced some quality tennis with Agnieszka Radwanska and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga taking the women’s and men’s titles, respectively.
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Parting Shots: Why we’ll never see another Federer (Sept. 3)
What makes Roger Federer so dominant after all these years? How does he maintain his perfect image when other golden athletes have faltered in the new age of 24-hour news cycles and social media? Brett Popplewell examined those questions in Sportsnet magazine.
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Canada remains in Davis Cup World Group (Sept. 12-14)
After faltering against Kei Nishikori and Japan in their first-round World Group Davis Cup match, Canada needed a win against Colombia to remain in the World Group and a shot at the title in 2015. Playing in front of a raucous home crowd in Halifax, Roanic won both of his singles matches, while Pospisil was also victorious to keep Canada in the World Gropu. Canada will have a shot at redemption against Japan in 2015, but this time around, the tie will be on home soil (Mar. 6-8 in Vancouver).
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Davis Cup on Twitter
Raonic reaches ATP World Finals (Nov. 1)
While not a Grand Slam event, the ATP World Finals is the most exclusive tournament of the year. In order to qualify, a player must be ranked in the top eight by the time the tournament comes around. At the beginning of the year, this was a goal Raonic set for himself. Mission accomplished.
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Bouchard parts ways with longtime coach Saviano (Nov. 24)
After her breakout year, Eugenie Bouchard surprised many when she and longtime coach Nick Saviano parted ways. Saviano helped guide Bouchard the last eight years and has been given credit for turning her into the superstar she is today.
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