Greatest Canadian player ever

[treblings]

Carling Bassett, Helen Kelesi?

[NadalAgassi]

Lorne Main or Daniel Nestor. The rest dont even come close.

[NadalAgassi]

Originally Posted by treblings

Carling Bassett, Helen Kelesi?

Would rather be a many time doubles champion or best over 70 player in the World, then a bottom end top 15/top 10 player for about a year.

[Dan Lobb]

Originally Posted by MAXXply

Grant Connell? Sebastien Lareau? Pete Burwash?!

Frank Dancevic, Keith Carpenter, others.
There are many who were on the edges of stardom.
I have listed only those who had significant championships or wins over big-time players in significant events.

[NLBwell]

Rusedski, of course.

[Dan Lobb]

Originally Posted by treblings

Carling Bassett, Helen Kelesi?

Eugenie Bouchard is the current Wimbledon Junior girl's champion.

[treblings]

Originally Posted by Dan Lobb

Eugenie Bouchard is the current Wimbledon Junior girl's champion.

with her and Peliwo as evidence, the canadians seem to be doing something right these days in their junior program

[Dan Lobb]

Originally Posted by treblings

with her and Peliwo as evidence, the canadians seem to be doing something right these days in their junior program

It's about time.
For too many years, tennis in Canada was viewed as a gentleman's game, an amateur pastime for wealthy people in private clubs, not as a high-level professional sport.
I think that Bob Bedard was never properly developed, never had top-level training, and learned by tough experience against more "full-time" players, such as Hoad and Rosewall.
He was a muscular, hard-hitting player, but had trouble with players such as Herb Flam, who had more developed skills.

[treblings]

how does Karl Hale fit in?
45+ world champion of 2012,and he played DavisCup for Jamaica if i heard correctly.
was he ever a force in canadian tennis as a player?

[Dan Lobb]

Originally Posted by treblings

how does Karl Hale fit in?
45+ world champion of 2012,and he played DavisCup for Jamaica if i heard correctly.
was he ever a force in canadian tennis as a player?

He is Tournament Director for Tennis Canada, and manages the Canadian Open. He has won two top level 45+ tournaments in the last three months. He never had the opportunity to play the pro circuuit in his prime years.

[treblings]

Originally Posted by Dan Lobb

He is Tournament Director for Tennis Canada, and manages the Canadian Open. He has won two top level 45+ tournaments in the last three months. He never had the opportunity to play the pro circuuit in his prime years.

i would have met him int the quarters of one of them last month, but managed to loose the round before

[Dan Lobb]

Originally Posted by Dan Lobb

It's about time.
For too many years, tennis in Canada was viewed as a gentleman's game, an amateur pastime for wealthy people in private clubs, not as a high-level professional sport.
I think that Bob Bedard was never properly developed, never had top-level training, and learned by tough experience against more "full-time" players, such as Hoad and Rosewall.
He was a muscular, hard-hitting player, but had trouble with players such as Herb Flam, who had more developed skills.

Bedard once reached the quarter-finals at Wimbledon and the Italian.
He never was a fulltime player, but split his time as a college teacher. In 1955, he played 40 weeks, his most active year. He concentrated on the Canadian "Open" (actually, the Canadian International Championships) where he beat some top players in defending his title in 1955, 1957, 1958 (including Krishnan and Whitney Reed, both #1 players for their countries.)
Currently Bedard is an active senior player at age 81, with a career senior record of 42 wins and 4 defeats, and 8 wins and 0 defeats in 2012.

[Dan Lobb]

Originally Posted by treblings

with her and Peliwo as evidence, the canadians seem to be doing something right these days in their junior program

Compared to the time that Bedard emerged, the change is astronomical.
Bedard, born 1931, did not pick up a raquet until age 15. He received only one year of coaching, in southern California, in 1952, age 21.
He only played two years on the international circuit in his entire career. There was no support of any kind from the Canadian tennis establishment.
Yet, this man would go on to win three Canadian Opens, and beat many top players in important matches such as Emerson, Krishnan, Whitney Reed, Rafael Osuna, to mention a few.
He is currently undefeated this year at 8 wins 0 defeats at age 81.

[treblings]

Originally Posted by Dan Lobb

Compared to the time that Bedard emerged, the change is astronomical.
Bedard, born 1931, did not pick up a raquet until age 15. He received only one year of coaching, in southern California, in 1952, age 21.
He only played two years on the international circuit in his entire career. There was no support of any kind from the Canadian tennis establishment.
Yet, this man would go on to win three Canadian Opens, and beat many top players in important matches such as Emerson, Krishnan, Whitney Reed, Rafael Osuna, to mention a few.
He is currently undefeated this year at 8 wins 0 defeats at age 81.

impressive. i guess many national federations have become more professional over the last decades, with the increasing prize money in tennis, resulting in the sport to become more international

[dominikk1985]

Originally Posted by NLBwell

Rusedski, of course.

I rusedski counts it is of course him as he made a GS final and was ranked top5. then I would rank nestor ahead of raonic but Roanic will overtake him soon if he continues as singles are more important than doubles and nestor was only highest ranked 58 in singles.

I don't rank guys like peliwo and bouchard yet. those were nice achievements but junior titles don't really mean anything.

but as soon either of them makes the top100 he probably directly ranks behind raonic and nestor with a potential to climb more.

[Dan Lobb]

Originally Posted by treblings

impressive. i guess many national federations have become more professional over the last decades, with the increasing prize money in tennis, resulting in the sport to become more international

True, in the 1950's it was only Australia and U.S.A. that provided support and training for their promising junior players.
And in the 1960's, the top amateurs from Australia were paid wealthy "stipends" after 1963 to stay amateur and defend the Davis Cup.
Emerson turned down an $80,000 offer from Rosewall and Laver to turn pro in 1964, claiming he could do better as an amateur.

[treblings]

Originally Posted by Dan Lobb

True, in the 1950's it was only Australia and U.S.A. that provided suport and training for their promising junior players.
And in the 1960's, the top amateurs from Australia were paid wealthy "stipends" after 1963 to stay amateur and defend the Davis Cup.
Emerson turned down an $80,000 offer from Rosewall and Laver to turn pro in 1964, claiming he could do better as an amateur.

Emerson actually said that? i mean it´s one thing to stay amateur, but to say you can do better as an amateur when the whole point of amateurism is not taking money is incredible

[Dan Lobb]

Originally Posted by treblings

Emerson actually said that? i mean it´s one thing to stay amateur, but to say you can do better as an amateur when the whole point of amateurism is not taking money is incredible

This was reported in, I believe, World Tennis.
This was in 1964, when Emerson was at his peak of dominance and celebrity, and when he was reportedly given $10,000 at one event for jumping over his suitcase in the hotel room he was given.

[treblings]

Originally Posted by Dan Lobb

This was reported in, I believe, World Tennis.
This was in 1964, when Emerson was at his peak of dominance and celebrity, and when he was reportedly given $10,000 at one event for jumping over his suitcase in the hotel room he was given.

i find it astonishing that he talked openly about it

[Dan Lobb]

Originally Posted by treblings

i find it astonishing that he talked openly about it

He didn't talk about it until after Open tennis had arrived and he had turned pro himself.
The shamateur situation really changed after Laver turned pro at the end of 1962, which angered the Australian tennis administration. Until Laver's signing, pro tennis had ground to a halt, and looked like failing altogether. Thereafter, the top Aussie amateurs received huge and confidential stipends, and the amateur tournament directors beefed up the "living arrangements" and "service payments" given to the top amateur stars. Small wonder that the pros could not sign Emerson or Santana in the mid-1960's, when the pros needed a shot in the arm to revive public interest in professional tennis.
The top pro sponsors and funders, Ampol and Qantas, pulled out of pro tennis in 1960, when Hoad and Gonzales became part-timers.