Penton: Tennis pro Pospisil calls it a career
By Bruce Penton
Vasek Pospisil wasn’t the biggest name taking part in this year’s National Bank Open in Toronto, but he was likely the best player to retire at the end of the competition.
Pospisil, a 35-year-old from Vernon, B.C., has been the only Western Canadian on the world tennis circuit in recent years. Our country’s best male players — Felix Auger-Aliassime, Denis Shapovalov and Milos Raonic — are all Easterners. Once ranked in men’s singles as high as 25th in the world, Pospisil’s on-court heroics were often surpassed by the three aforementioned Easter Canada players, and the resulting media coverage was, to say the least, lacking.
But Pospisil did have some great moments. He paired with American Jack Sock to win the Wimbledon doubles crown in 2014. In 2017, at the semi-major Indian Wells tournaments in California, he scored a second-round victory over Britain’s Andy Murray who, at the time, was ranked No. 1 in the world. He made the final in three ATP tournaments in his career, and was a doubles’ winner seven times. Pospisil also helped Canada win its first Davis Cup in 2022 and represented Canada twice at the Olympics.
A feature story on Pospisil in the Globe and Mail said the tennis pro “made his mark as an advocate for players’ rights, joining Novak Djokovic in founding the first-ever Professional Tennis Players Association in 2019.”
Pospisil didn’t make much of a splash at the National Bank Open, falling to Argentina’s Bagnis Facundo, 6-2, 3-6, 6-3 in the first round. He has battled numerous injuries in the last three years. “It’s a really, really tough sport, physically and mentally, and at some point you burn out. At least I did,” Pospisil said in a Globe and Mail story following his elimination.
Now that he has retired from the pro game, said the Globe story, he’s “keen to help with any Davis Cup duties, should Tennis Canada ask him.”
Helping to develop future Canadian tennis stars will also be high on Pospisil’s post-retirement agenda.
“Nothing would make me happier than to help young juniors in less privileged positions,” he told the Globe and Mail. “I learned through years of trial and error, so if I can help expedite the learning curve for somebody who is a good person, or two or three or more players, then I would find that fulfilling.”
Meanwhile, Canada’s national open had a shadow cast over it before it began when the three biggest names in the game — world No. 1 Yannik Sinner of Italy, No 2 Carlos Alcaraz of Spain and 25-Grand-Slam winner Novak Djokovic of Serbia — all announced they were withdrawing from the event. That left the competition wide open, with spotlight on the best Canadians. Unfortunately, Auger-Aliassime and Shapovalov were both eliminated in the round of 64.
But while the ATP tour carries on, Pospisil, whose family came to this country from Czechoslovakia just before Vasek was born, stays behind. He’s a proud Canadian who had a decent career on the world stage.
Another fark.com offering: “Hertz is sponsoring a car in a NASCAR race. Thankfully, it’s not somebody named Simpson.”
Hall of Fame football coach Don Shula: “Sure, luck means a lot in football. Not having a good quarterback is bad luck.”
Cathal Kelly of the Globe and Mail, after the Blue Jays were dominant in taking three of four from the Tigers in Detroit: “It was like watching a bouncer slap around an overserved customer.”
Kelly again, on disappointing free-agent signee Anthony Santander, who signed a $93.5 million contract with the Jays: “He was so terrible that when he got injured, the team got better.”
Janice Hough of leftcoastsportsbabe.com, after an MLB game in which Colorado fell behind 9-0 in the first inning and later won 17-16 over Pittsburgh: “I remember Little League games like this. Especially in tournaments when teams run out of pitching.”
Headline at fark.com: “Pirates put up nine runs in the first inning against the worst team in baseball. Add seven ‘insurance’ runs. Lose.
The late Bob Uecker, Mr. Baseball: “The biggest thrill a ballplayer can have is when your son takes after you. That happened when my Bobby was in his championship Little League game. He really showed me something. Struck out three times. Made an error that lost the game. Parents were throwing things at our car and swearing at us as we drove off. Gosh, I was proud.”
RJ Currie of sportsdeke.com: “Note to Felix Auger-Aliassime, who is trying to plan his September wedding. You’re a guy, Felix — wedding plans take care of themselves.”
Headline at theonion.com: “Mavericks GM Trades Away All Of Team’s Basketballs”
Steve Simmons of the Toronto Sun: “With a name like Seranthony Dominguez, shouldn't he be playing for the Royals? Can you just see him on British television — up next, Sir Anthony, he's a Royal.”
Care to comment? Email brucepenton2003@yahoo.ca