McIntyre Tennis

Milos Raonic Opens Up to Match Point Canada

Canadian Milos Raonic opened up to Ben Lewis and Mike McIntyre on the most recent episode of Match Point Canada: the Official Podcast of Tennis Canada. 

The former Wimbledon finalist talks about his intense training regiment through three months of quarantine and why he's feeling in the best shape he's been in years. While he's never made it past the fourth round of the US Open, he has to be considered a legitimate threat if he's healthy. 

The usually reserved Raonic is quite forthcoming when asked for his thoughts on the recent Adria Tennis event that was put on by World Number One Novak Djokovic who just tested positive for covid19. Raonic explains why he wouldn't have felt comfortable attending the event that was held in both Serbia and Croatia. 

Raonic also reveals why he's happy to have helped take Canada to a higher level on the international tennis scene and how he's excited to be a part of a legitimate crew of Canadian players including Bianca Andreescu, Felix Auger Aliassime and Denis Shapovalov to contend for major trophies in the tennis world. 

Check out the link below!

https://cms.megaphone.fm/channel/matchpointcanadatcpn?selected=ADV6995926962

 

Raonic and Pospisil to Faceoff in Antwerp

By Mike McIntyre

I'll never forget the Rogers Cup from 2010. It was a glimpse into the future for Canadian tennis fans who were starved for some home grown talent to root for. In a night time doubles match on Centre Court, two youngsters by the names of Milos Raonic and Vasek Pospisil took to the court to face the top two players in the world who had formed a superstar tandem as they began their summer hardcourt swing. While most expected Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic to cruise through the match, the upstart Canadians had something else in mind and delivered a stunning 5-7, 6-3, 10-8 victory. It was a sign of things to come.

Raonic would be the first to excel on the ATP World Tour and his Wimbledon final appearance in 2016 remains the highlight of his career to date. When Federer and Nadal began to falter a few years back, it seemed as though Raonic would be one of the next generation of players to perhaps start to regularly challenge for some Grand Slam titles. Instead, injuries have become a regular occurrence for the now 27 year old who seems unable to get through a season without dealing with multiple betrayals from his own body.

Pospisil never had the weapon like Raonic had with his serve, but still pushed his way up the rankings to a career-high of No. 25 in the World back in 2014. He won the Wimbledon doubles titles that same year and a year later also made it to the quarterfinals at the All-England Club in singles. Since that time however his doubles ranking has all but disappeared as he has chosen to focus on his singles game, which has returned to the top 100 in 2018 but seems unable to get much higher than that.

The first two career meetings between Raonic and Pospisil were both important marks in their developing careers. In 2013 they clashed for a spot in the Rogers Cup finals in Montreal with Raonic prevailing 6-4, 1-6, 7-6(4). A year later the two played in the first-ever all-Canadian men's singles final on the tour with Raonic again the victor by a score of 6-1, 6-4. At the time Canadian tennis fans likely felt they were on the verge of something special, expecting many more great duels between the two. Unfortunately that has not come to fruition, and the meeting on Wednesday in Antwerp feels rather anti-climactic between two players who seem to have flat-lined in their progress.

Instead it seems like most of the hype in Canada has turned to rising stars Denis Shapovalov and Felix Auger-Aliassime. The two teenagers will be counted on to hold the torch for Tennis Canada in the future both as competitors and teammates in Davis Cup and hopefully Olympic action as well. For today however, we'll see if Raonic and Pospisil can remind us that they still matter and that better days lie ahead.

Canada In Davis Cup Driver's Seat

By Mike McIntyre

In what is guaranteed to be the last Davis Cup tie played this time of year on home soil, Canada gave its fans something to remember them by in the opening day of their Tie against the Netherlands. The Tennis Canada squad would secure victories in both singles rubbers with wins from Milos Raonic and Denis Shapovalov.

The first match featured Canada's No. 1 gun Raonic returning to Davis Cup action for the first time since 2015. The World No. 20 delivered a routine win as expected against World No. 236 Thiemo de Bakker. The only question for Raonic was his health, as he was injured in the last match he played a couple of weeks ago at the US Open. There were no signs of limping or limited movement from that right thigh injury and Raonic cruised 6-3, 6-2, 6-2.

It was the second singles match of the day that was predicted to be much closer and that certainly turned-out to be the case. 19 year old Denis Shapovalov brought a 1-1 career head-to-head record into the match against 31 year old Robin Haase. Shapovalov triumphed earlier this season on clay in Rome while Haase got his revenge recently in Toronto at the Rogers Cup. The match did not start well for Canada as Shapovalov was quickly down 3-6, 3-6 due to a high number of errors in comparison to the steady play from his opponent. In the third frame it appeared likely that the Dutchman was going to finish things off in straight sets. Serving at 5-5, Shapovalov somehow saved six break points against him to hold and then break Haase to take the set 7-5. Suddenly there was a glimmer of hope for the enthusiastic home crowd to latch onto. Shapovalov started connecting on his ground strokes that were now finding their mark more often than not. Haase began to tire and for the first time in his young career, Shapovalov would overcome a two set deficit to prevail 3-6, 3-6, 7-5, 6-3, 6-4.

The victory now sets the stage for Vasek Pospisil and the retiring Daniel Nestor to clinch the tie against the Netherlands in their doubles match Saturday afternoon. The pair will have their work cut out for them as they face the world's No. 20 doubles player Jean-Julien Roger. Roger's partner is unknown at present time but given the four-plus hours that Haase spent on court yesterday, it would be unlikely he returns to action so soon. Instead look to Matwe Middelkoop - world No. 33  to take the spot. 

It will be a difficult position for Nestor to be in despite being the sentimental favourite. The 46 year old has played with a revolving door of partners in his final season on the ATP World Tour and has not been able to develop much rhythm as he approaches retirement. He and Pospisil have also struggled in recent matches together but will hope to use the home crowd support and emotional magnitude of the moment to propel them - and Canada - to victory. 

Should the Netherlands win in doubles, it will be up to Shapovalov or Raonic to win one of their remaining singles matches on Sunday - a feat that shouldn't be a problem given their success on Friday. While we might not be seeing much Davis Cup action in Canada moving forward under the new format, at least it appears likely that Canadian tennis fans will have a positive lasting memory from the success achieved this weekend here in Toronto.

Great Things in Store for Canada at the Rogers Cup

By Mike McIntyre

World No. 1 Rafael Nadal captured his fourth Rogers Cup title on Sunday in Toronto and reminded the Next Gen on the ATP World Tour that their time has not quite arrived yet. The Spaniard was - in the words of vanquished 20 year old finalist Stefanos Tsitsipas - a "beast" whose competitive drive and hunger for victory still remains unparalleled among his peers. 

This edition of Canada's Masters 1000 event will be remembered by Nadal's brilliant win but also as one where the young guns made their presence truly felt. Aside from Tsitsipas - who defeated four members of the top ten en-route to the final - there were strong performances by Karen Khachanov, Daniil Medvedev, Canada's Denis Shapovalov  and of course 21 year old Sascha Zverev who as the current World No. 4 has already transcended his Next Gen label to become a force on the professional tour. 

While the Grand Slams are still being dominated by three guys - Nadal along with Roger Federer and a resurgent Novak Djokovic, the kids coming-up the ranks are proving that they are ready to compete for titles at the other tour events and it is only a matter of time before one of them has a breakthrough at a Major. 

Stuck in the middle are those in their mid to late twenties. The Grigor Dimitrov's and Milos Raonic's of the world who, while talented, are at risk of seeing their chances of winning one of tennis' most coveted tournaments disappear. A combination of health issues, inconsistencies and general misfortune of playing in the Era of three of the best players - perhaps THE best players - ever has cost them their quest for Grand Slam triumph so far. 

Crowds in Toronto seemed to be among their all-time highs this year and this is a trend that we should see only continue to blossom as Canada asserts itself in tennis as a nation to keep an eye on at the international level. Aside from the 27 year old Raonic - who still could conceivably have some good years ahead if he can stay healthy, there are two rising talents that will soon be superstars both at home and abroad.

Denis Shapovalov made his presence felt last summer during his surprising semifinal run in Montreal. While he could not repeat that accomplishment this year in Toronto, he looked good in his two opening round victories before falling to Robin Haase in his round of sixteen match. Give the kid some time to mature and develop his entertaining game and he has nowhere to go but up. As if one budding star wasn't enough, tennis fans also had a glimpse of the promise Felix Auger-Aliassime holds. The just-turned 18 year old seemed to be poised for a second round victory against Medvedev but ultimately fell 3-6, 6-4, 7-6(7). Nerves got the better of him in the late stages of the third set tiebreak, but he is already the youngest player in the top 200 of the ATP rankings and has a game that is far more developed than it should  be for his age. 

While Raonic had an exciting run to the Rogers Cup finals in 2013 where he lost to - you guessed it - Nadal, his arrival was just foreshadowing the success Tennis Canada is on the cusp of enjoying. With Daniel Nestor set to retire next month at the age of 45 after winning every conceivable accolade in the doubles world, Canada is ready to now see if it has what it takes to experiences that kind of success in singles competition as well. When Nadal, Federer and Djokovic do finally pass the torch, there is no doubt there will be some Canadians lining up to try to have their turn. 

Australian Open Men's Draw Revealed

By: Mike McIntyre

The Australian Open draw was released on Thursday for both the men's and women's singles draws in Melbourne. For the men, 36 year old Roger Federer is the defending champion and will be considered the favorite among many with the match-status and conditioning of Djokovic, Nadal and Wawrinka all unknown as they return from injuries.

Let's take a look at the main contenders on the ATP side of things. Have a glance at your leisure at LeoVegas Sports as well for their take on the favorites in the first Grand Slam of the year.

Isn't it something that this year a 36 year old Roger Federer is considered the favorite for the first Grand Slam of the season. A year ago he was almost five years removed from his last major triumph. Then he went on a rampage winning in Melbourne, the two Masters 1000 titles in Indian Wells and Miami as well as Wimbledon after having skipped the entire clay court season.

This year he is the only stable one amongst the "Big Four" with Andy  Murray having withdrawn after surgery on his troublesome hip and with Novak Djokovic, Rafa Nadal and Stan Wawrinka still having yet to prove themselves as 100% fit after injury issues.

Nadal holds the top seed and has the easiest draw of the big names mentioned above. He opens against Victor Estrella Burgos and doesn't seem to have any noticeable threats until a potential fourth round match with American John Isner and Marin Cilic as his projected quarterfinal opponent. The top quarter is really wide open aside from those players and we should see several surprising names still alive into the third round.

The second quarter gets a little more tricky with third seed Grigor Dimitrov having to likely face either Jo-Wilfried Tsonga or Nick Kyrgios in the fourth round. A Dimitrov/Kyrgios affair would be a re-match of their recent semifinal at the Brisbane International that Kyrgios emerged victorious from en route to the title. Kyrgios is going to win Grand Slams at some point in his career I have almost no-doubt. With the established talents on the ATP World Tour still getting over their injuries, could this be the Slam for Kyrgios to have his breakthrough? Kevin Anderson and Jack Sock are my picks for the final quarterfinalist spot in this section of the draw but neither is expected to make-it much further. Anderson took advantage (and good for him) of a nice draw at the final Slam of 2017 in New York, but I don't see that story playing out again here for the South African.

In the third quarter of the draw, Novak Djokovic would normally be considered the overwhelming favorite to advance. However, the former World No. 1 and 12 time Slam champion has not played a competitive match since Wimbledon due to an elbow injury that shelved the rest of his season in 2017. Djokovic was back on the court this past week at the Kooyong Classic exhibition event and displayed a new service motion that clearly is the result of his recovery from surgery. How this will impact his ability to hold serve remains to be seen and he could just as easily win the tournament or bow out early due to his inactivity. Let's not forget though that the Aussie Open accounts for half of Djokovic's Grand Slam career totals.

The Serb opens against American Donald Young and has a potentially tricky second round match against Gael Monfils looming. Monfils started his 2018 campaign in the best possible way as he picked up the title in Qatar. That being said, Monfils has come up a discouraging 0-14 against Djokovic in ATP sanctioned events during his career. A fourth round match against Alexander Zverev would be fun to watch, although Zverev might first have to get past his older brother Mischa the 32nd seed. Also in this quadrant is 5th seeded Dominic Thiem - whom Djokovic just defeated in Kooyong -  as well as another former Slam winner in Melbourne, Stan Wawrinka. Currently seeded 9th due to his own injury absence from the tour since Wimbledon, Wawrinka has been very low-key in the days ahead of the tournament and it still remains to be seen whether or not he will be fit enough to play. 

Federer meanwhile is the No. 2 seed and the defending champ finds himself with a decent starting draw in the final quarter of the tournament but things will quickly get intense for the 36 year old legend. He went 4-0 in singles play and 4-0 in mixed doubles with Belinda Bencic at the Hopman Cup to start the year. The only set he lost in singles was the opener in his final match against Alexander Zverev that he recovered to win 6-7(4), 6-0, 6-2. In terms of seeded players at the Aussie Open, Federer could run into Richard Gasquet in the third round and then 2016 Wimbledon foe Milos Raonic in the fourth. Gasquet has not challenged Fed in the past 8 matches they have played and the Swiss star leads their head-to-head by a staggering margin of 16-2. While Raonic did indeed deny Federer the chance to face Andy Murray in the 2016 Wimbledon finals, the Canadian has struggled with injuries since then and did not look sharp in his opening round loss to Alex de Minaur in Brisbane a week ago. In terms of quarterfinal opposition, Federer has the likes of David Goffin, Juan Martin Del Potro and Tomas Berdych as likely candidates to challenge him. Goffin has a nice draw until the fourth round while Del Potro is likely the player Federer would least choose to face in this section given their past history. Federer narrowly leads their past nine encounters by a margin of 5-4.

Check back with us throughout the two week even that begins Monday January 15th for recaps, analysis and plenty of pictures as well. You can also follow us on Twitter for more timely updates. Regardless of who wins it is certainly an entertaining period for the sport as we get to see all the big names kick-off the first Grand Slam of the year. 

The Week Ahead on the ATP World Tour: Estoril, Istanbul and Munich

By Mike McIntyre

With the resurgent Rafael Nadal taking the week off to prepare for the Madrid Masters 1000 that begins on May 7th, the rest of the ATP World Tour will have an opportunity to show what they can do on the red clay of Europe. Here are the draws to all three events with a quick synopsis of who to keep an eye on.

Millennium Estoril Open

Pablo Carreno Busta is the top seed while Richard Gasquet and Juan Martin Del Potro are other big names and are seeded second and fifth respectively. Clay court names such as the aging David Ferrer, Tommy Robredo and Nicolas Almagro are also entered. So is the only man to defeat Roger Federer in 2017 - Evgeny Donskoy.

TEB BNP Paribas in Istanbul

The oft-injured Milos Raonic is seeded first in Istanbul and will be looking to get through a tournament in one piece. Ranked third behind Andy Murray and Novak Djokovic to start the season, Raonic has fallen to sixth in the rankings thanks to his injury woes. Marin Cilic is the second seed while other names of note include Borna Coric who has yet to build on his promise, Diego Schwartzman, Viktor Troicki and Bernie Tomic. In other words, this is an event that Raonic could use to re-start his year if his body can keep it together.

BMW Open by FWU in Munich

Gael Monfils takes the top spot in Munich and is playing on clay for the first time in 2017. A modest 8-4 record with no results past the quarter-finals of any event this season will have the thirty year-old Monfils looking to register a breakthrough. Roberto Bautista-Agut, Alexander Zverev and Fabio Fognini round out the top-four seeds while 39 year-old Tommy Haas will play the sixth event of his comeback in what is undoubtedly the final season of his stellar career.

Milos Raonic Selects Richard Krajicek as Next Coach

By Mike McIntyre

World No. 3 Milos Raonic continues his selection of former Grand Slam champions to his team as it was revealed on Tuesday that Richard Krajicek would be his next coach. The Wimbledon champion from 1996 will try to help Raonic attain the first Grand Slam title over the course of 2017.

The move should come as no surprise as the two previously worked together for a brief stint at the beginning of last season and Raonic asked Krajicek to come on-board following last year's French Open. At the time Krajicek had already committed to working with Stan Wawrinka in a partership that was short-lived. At the time Krajicek had the following to say about his coaching ambitions, "My goal is to after the US Open, work with a player for about 18 or 20 weeks, I don’t know which player that is going to be yet. Maybe with Stan for a few more weeks, but I have no idea.”

Krajicek has maintained an active presence on the ATP Tour since he retired in 2004. He has been the tournament director at the ABN Amro tennis tournament since that time. Similar to Raonic, he also has his own charitable foundation that seeks to engage youth in sports. That mutual interest displays another similarity between the two that goes beyond the tennis court. 

On paper, the pairing of Raonic and Krajicek seems like a smart fit. Like Milos, Krajicek was known for his big serve and penchant for coming to the net which helped him to the only Slam title of his career twenty years ago. 

Despite a successful 2016 that saw the Canadian reach a career-high in the rankings as well as making the first major final of his career at Wimbledon, Raonic parted ways with his coach Carlos Moya. It is evident that his strong desire to improve even further has prevented Raonic from becoming stagnant in terms of his development. He is constantly seeking ways to expedite his success at the Grand Slam level and clearly he feels that bringing Krajicek into the fold is a part of that process. 

Donaldson Stays Positive Despite Loss to Raonic at the Rogers Cup

By Mike McIntyre

It was undeniably a week to remember at the Rogers Cup in Toronto for 19 year old Providence native Jared Donaldson. With many of the top players in the world skipping the event to prepare for the Rio Olympics, Donaldson was one of a handful of players who seized the opportunity to step-up and go deeper in a tournament of this magnitude than they normally might.

Making his way first through the qualifying draw, Donaldson then won two rounds at a Masters level event for the first time in his career. As the next generation of American tennis players attempt to make their mark on tour, it was Donaldson, the second youngest among them in the top 150, who served notice this week that he is ready to achieve more.   

Reality set in however during his Thursday night match on Center Court against heavy favorite and hometown hero Milos Raonic, the tournament’s fourth seed. A player like Raonic was clearly a notch above John Millman, who Donaldson beat in the first round, as well as clay court specialist and notorious headcase Fabio Fognini who he took down in round two.

Donaldson was in trouble from the onset against the Canadian and quickly found himself down 3-0. His first serve in particular failed him early and he was unable to put one into play until his fifteenth service attempt of the match. With a second serve speed averaging a mere 88 miles per hour, there was no way Donaldson would be able to trouble a player of Raonic’s caliber.

Raonic meanwhile was his usual lethal self from the service line and ended the match with fifteen aces to Donaldson’s three. Donaldson never got a look at a break point on the Canadian’s serve and later alluded to the fact that he was out of his element against such a top level opponent. “It was really just a different pace and a different level of tennis that I wasn’t used to,” Donaldson admitted. “His serve compared to mine was just in a different universe pretty much.”

The Canadian was on the offensive the entire match and managed to neutralize Donaldson’s weapons throughout the encounter. Raonic would go on to win the match in routine fashion by a score of 6-2, 6-3.

Overall the week was a memorable one for Donaldson that he hopes will continue to help propel his young career in the right direction. Going three rounds in a Masters 1000 event gives him a nice bump of 90 points in the ATP World Tour rankings that should see him move closer to the top 130 in the world from his current spot at 147. That would represent a career-high for the young talent.

Donaldson now has plans for a heavy schedule to take him to the U.S. Open at the end of August including a stop in Atlanta next week followed by the inaugural tournament in Los Cabos and then the Masters 1000 event in Cincinnati if his ranking will allow him into qualifying.

With a renewed confidence from his week here in Canada, Donaldson exuded positivity even after his one-sided loss to Raonic. When asked about his outlook on the remainder of the season he reflected, “I had the biggest win of my career till this point beating Fognini in the second round so I think there are a lot of positives to take away from this week even though tonight didn’t go my way. But you know I’m on to the next tournament and hopefully I can carry on my good performance.”

 

Australian Open Men's Quaterfinal Preview

By Mike McIntyre

We are down to the final eight players at the Australian Open and unlike on the women's side there are very few surprises up to this point. This should make for some very entertaining and hotly contested quarterfinal matches. Here is a quick breakdown of the four contests ahead of action on Tuesay and Wednesday in Melbourne.

Novak Djokovic (1) vs Kei Nishikori (7)

The undisputed favourite coming into the event and also the defending champion, Novak Djokovic suddenly seems like he may indeed be vulnerable after his five set win against Gilles Simon in the round of sixteen. Roger Federer was quick to defend Novak and his 100+ errors in that match saying that Simon has the tendency to make players go for broke on their shots, but none the less I don't think anyone quite expected it to get to a fifth set. Djokovic has defeated Chung, Halys, Seppi and Simon to get to the quarters and will face a stiff test from the 7th seeded Nishikori.

Nishikori has not yet gone the distance in any of his victories over Kohlschreiber, Krajicek, Garcia-Lopez or Tsonga and is perhaps a bit more rested than his adversary in this upcoming match. Beating a player of Tsonga's calibre by a score of 6-4, 6-2, 6-4 is quite impressive and bodes well for his confidence at this stage of the tournament. Djokovic leads the head to head by a margin of 5-2 including the last four in-a-row. Nishikori can draw strength from the fact that he has beaten Novak at a Grand Slam before, in the semifinals of the 2014 US Open.

I think anyone would be crazy to predict anything other than a victory for Djokovic in this one. That being said I also believe the possibility for an upset has increased somewhat due to the results in recent days. All in all I'm going with Novak in four.

 Roger Federer (3) vs Tomas Berdych (6)

This will be the seventh career meeting at the Slams between Federer and Berdych with Roger holding a 4-2 advantage, although Berdych has won their last two battles which came at the U.S. Open in 2012 and at Wimbledon in 2010. Overall Federer leads their career head to head 15-6 and has taken the last four in-a-row between them. A rejuvenated Federer won all three meetings in 2015 with ease, not dropping a set in any of those matches.

Federer has started 2016 fairly strongly with a loss to Milos Raonic in the finals of Brisbane and with four relatively convincing wins so far here at the Aussie Open. He has wins against Basilashvili, Dolgopolov, Dimitrov and Goffin to get to this stage. Even Roger knows that his window for winning an 18th major gets smaller and smaller with each passing Slam so that undoubtedly is providing him with a little extra incentive. Despite the fact that he still looks like he could play for another ten years, even Fed fans know realistically that is not going to happen. As he approaches the four year mark without a Slam victory, Federer needs to make something happen while the body is still co-operating.

Berdych has been most comfortable here at the Aussie Open where he has now made the quarter-finals or better the past six years straight. The Czech has beaten Bhambri, Basic, Krygios and Bautista-Agut to reach this point. If he's able to play his best and not get caught up in the fact that Roger has had his number of late, Berdych could move into the semifinals for a third straight year. I certainly give him a better shot of upsetting Federer than I give Nishikori versus Djokovic.

That being said, I'll take Roger in three sets given how he looks lately to set-up a final-like SF against Novak.

Milos Raonic (13) vs Gael Monfils (23)

You don't want to miss this one folks! Five sets written all over it and between two enormously different styles of tennis players. This match will have canon-like serves and circus-like acrobatics. An excellent opportunity for two players who have struggled with injuries to get some satisfaction with a semifinal appearance at a Slam. The pair have faced each other but twice before in their careers with Monfils coming up victorious both times. You can throw those results out the window however as both came before Raonic solidified himself as a top-level threat on the ATP World Tour. With a tournament win already under his belt this year and a new coach in Carlos Moya to provide a different perspective on things, I would say that the Canadian is the slight favourite coming into this quarterfinal match.

This is the fourth Grand Slam quarterfinal for Raonic who will be aiming to attain just the second major semifinal of his career. For Monfils meanwhile it is the seventh Slam quarterfinal, although most of those came on the clay of Roland Garros. Regardless of the result, I think this will be the most entertaining of the four matches to watch and I wouldn't want to miss it.

I'm giving the edge to Milos who will prevail in five sets.

Andy Murray (2) vs David Ferrer (8)

Not surprised one bit at the two who will be facing each other in this quarterfinal match. Soon to be father Andy Murray has always performed well at the first Slam of the year and this edition has been no exception. He has beaten Zverev, Groth, Sousa and Tomic to get to this stage and has only dropped one set along the way. It does not seem as though impending fatherhood has distracted him from his goal of winning the third Slam of his career.

Ferrer for his part has been even more workmanlike than Murray en route to his sixth Aussie Open QF. He has taken out Gojowczyk, Hewitt, Johnson and Isner to get here. He'll work his butt off against Murray but at age 33 I don't know if he truly has enough to take the No. 2 seed down.

Murray holds a 12-6 career edge against Ferrer, including the past five straight times they have played one another and eight of the past nine in total. In fact if you take the clay matches out of the equation, Ferrer has only defeated Murray twice. Expect that trend to continue and witness Murray advancing in four sets.

Milos and Genie Let Fans Get Closer in Toronto

By Mike McIntyre

What better way to spend a sunny afternoon along the waterfront in Toronto than watching Canada's two tennis stars Milos Raonic and Genie Bouchard conducting a clinic for kids on a makeshift barge sitting on Lake Ontario?

Both coming off disappointing results at Wimbledon where injuries limited their effectiveness, the twenty-something King and Queen of Canadian tennis were all smiles while they encouraged the next generation of tennis stars in their home country. Hitting with the kids was something both players seemed to genuinely enjoy and it sure makes one appreciate how fortunate we are in Canada to have these two players engaged in inspiring our youth. Up until just a few years ago there really were no big names for kids in Canada to look up to on the tennis court. With the relatively newfound success of Raonic and Bouchard you can pretty much guarantee that more kids are going to be picking up a racquet and trying their hand at tennis. 

Here are some pictures we took today that truly capture the motto for the day - #getcloser

Perfect conditions for tennis on a barge!

The crowd gathers by Lake Ontario in anticipation of Milos and Genie's arrival around noon.

Shortly thereafter the two tennis stars arrived with a typically Canadian sized entourage around them.

 

Just in case you forgot what country Raonic represented. The players were mic'd up and looked like they were ready to run an aerobics class rather than a tennis clinic.

 

Hosts for the day were Evanka Osmak and Ken Reid from SportsNet.

Working on her overhead while some happy youngsters look on.

The next Genie?

After hitting with the kids Genie and Milos rallied a little for the crowd.

 There were a few rare smiles from Milos today, a player more known for his reserved demeanor on court.

Talk about canoeing in the right place at the right time!

Genie's toss was right where it needed to be today.

And that's a wrap!

Canadian tennis fans will get the chance to see both players when they return to home soil for the Rogers Cup running August 7-16 in Montreal for the men and August 8-16 in Toronto for the women.