Not meant to be for Milos

Milos Raonic got it together during the grass season, finishing with a respectful showing at Wimbledon. The Canadian made the quarterfinals, losing to fellow big-server John Isner in four sets, but it was clear he was bothered by yet another injury.

During the first set, Raonic had his upper right leg taped and then again in the fourth set while showing signs of pain throughout the match. It was yet another missed opportunity for the 2016 finalist, having been in a similar position before, going deep in a Grand Slam only to be held back by his health. He was lined up to play Roger Federer in the semi-finals had he won, but the draw opened up perfectly for him when Federer was upset by Kevin Anderson.

The Thornhill, Ont., native said after the Isner match that he felt like he had a muscle tear in his leg, but couldn’t confirm the extent of the injury right away. Raonic did play a solid tournament, and despite not playing any top-50 players before Isner, he should feel confident for the hardcourt season. With relatively no points to defend the rest of 2018, look for Raonic to get back into the top 20 by year’s end. 

Last Canadian standing

Canada’s last player standing, once again, was Gabriela Dabrowski, who made another deep run at a major - this time in ladies’ doubles. The Ottawa native and partner Yifan Xu made the semi-finals where they were narrowly defeated 7-5 in the third set to Nicole Melichar and Kveta Peschke.

The pair rode an eight-match match winning streak from their title run in Eastbourne just two weeks prior and have been one of the top teams on the WTA tour in 2018. It was Dabrowski’s first ever semi-final in ladies’ doubles at a major, but she had won two previous Grand Slam titles in mixed doubles. She and partner Mate Pavic lost in the third round after getting consecutive walkovers ending a streak of making the final in both previous slams played. Dabrowski remains safely in the top 10 in doubles and continues to be Canada’s biggest threat to win trophies at a Grand Slam. 

Second-round exit for Shapovalov

Handed the toughest draw of any Canadian at Wimbledon, Denis Shapovalov came through with an impressive win over Jeremy Chardy in the first round. The Frenchman had been one of the most in-form players on grass making the final in s-Hertogenbosch and semi-final at Queens Club. Shapovalov prevailed in four sets, giving him his first career match win at the All-England Club. The 19-year-old lost his second-round match to Benoit Paire in four sets after winning the opener, and looked to be in control with his opponent nursing an apparent knee injury.

It was the third straight Grand Slam where Shapovalov lost in the second round, all of which he won the first set. His ranking will stay the same at No. 25 in the world but now will have to defend the massive amount of points he earned last year on the hardcourts. A story to watch the rest of the year is if Shapovalov can hang on to the top ranked Canadian spot. 

Signs of improvement

Genie Bouchard was back in a Grand Slam at Wimbledon after missing out at Roland Garros. The Canadian went through three rounds of qualifying just to get into the main draw, and then defeated British wild card Gabriela Taylor in the first round. It was the first time Bouchard had won four consecutive matches since making the final in Kuala Lumpur back in February 2016.

The 24-year-old then had a tough task in the second round against the No. 17 Ashleigh Barty, losing the first set but had a 5-2 lead in the second set. Bouchard looked to be well on her way to forcing a decider but then lost five straight games to end the match.

Her ranking will move up 40 spots to No. 148 and will look to build some momentum with the hardcourt season on the horizon. Bouchard worked with legendary coach Robert Lansdorp during Wimbledon but there is no word on if that partnership will continue. 

Not so lucky

Peter Polansky has been living on the edge all year in Grand Slam qualifying tournaments, and reached his third straight main draw via a lucky loser spot at Wimbledon. Despite getting a favourable draw in the first round, Polansky lost to qualifier No. 171 Dennis Novak and has not been able to take advantage of any of his lucky loser selections this year.

Polansky did reach a career high of No. 110 in the world however does have challenger points (Winnipeg final) coming off this week. Vasek Pospisil was the other Canadian man in the singles draw, losing in the first round to Mikhail Kukushkin in four sets. The 28-year-old has seen his ranking drop to No. 97 and is right on the cusp on getting into the main draw at the U.S. Open. Fortunately, the Canadian has relatively no points to defend until October so he should not have to go through qualifying at the last Grand Slam of the year.