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 After two party-pooping days in Toronto and Montreal, where a WTA
Tour event is being staged simultaneously, Raonic is the last
Canadian standing in the two tournaments that had been hyped as a
turning point for the sport in the Great White North.
With Raonic the toast of Toronto - sitting at a career high number
six in the world rankings riding the momentum from a tournament win
in Washington on Sunday - and Wimbledon finalist Eugenie Bouchard,
hailed as the new face of women's tennis and the belle of the ball
in her native Montreal, the week was supposed to be a national
tennis celebration.
But the celebration quickly turned into a funeral march with eight
of the nine Canadians entered already shown the exit before Raonic
had stepped onto centre court for his first match.
With Tennis Canada officials, sponsors, television executives and
fans still reeling from Bouchard's shock 6-0 2-6 6-0 opening loss to
American qualifier Shelby Rogers on Tuesday, a new wave of panic
swept through the stadiums on Wednesday when Sock easily claimed the
opening set from an unsteady Raonic.
The big-hitting Canadian, however, would not disappoint and
displayed the steel, grit and heart Bouchard lacked to survive two
nervy tie-breaks and leave tournament officials and fans happy.
"Today had nothing to do with that (pressure)," said Raonic. "Today
was just first match of a new tournament and it's never going to be
pretty.
"You've just got to go and fight through and I was able to do so."
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The two Rogers Cups had been heavily promoted in both Montreal and Toronto
and on national television commercials aired across the entire country.
In both cities, the faces of Raonic and Bouchard smiled out from
magazines, newspapers and televisions while the buildup to the two
tournaments had national news outlets chronicling the extraordinary rise
of the sport in the hockey-crazed country.
But the disappointing results offered a sobering reminder that
expectations run high whether you are wielding a tennis racquet or a
hockey stick.
"I just want her to sort of forget it as quickly as possible," Raonic
said of Bouchard's shock defeat.
"Grand scheme of things, whatever may happen, obviously you want to play
well but people, she will realise people are not going to remember
Montreal.
"They're going to remember at the end of this year Wimbledon, Paris, and
Melbourne. Not Montreal."
(Editing by Patrick Johnston)
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