Kind'a knew it

I figured Milos Raonic would lose to the fiery Gael Monfils and he did.  The problem with Raonic is that he is over-hyped and merely efficient.  He is also boring to watch.  You know the guys in high school who had "no personality"?  That's how I see him.  Tennis Canada has pushed him way too far in the PR game and now everyone looks stupid. 

How could he lose the Roger's Cup in his home town?  The last Canadian to win this tournament was Bob Bedard in 1958.  He beat the incomparable Whitney Reed -- know who he is?  Bet not.  Reed just died in his eighties and he was magnificent -- the kind of tennis bum who was simply unimaginatively talented and a bit of a real "bad boy".  The kind of guy who left his racket in taxis on the way to a tournament and had to borrow someone's when he got there.  The kind of guy who forgot his tennis shoes and had to beg a pair.  The kind of guy who played totally hungover and won.  The kind of guy who jumped out of bedroom windows when someone's husband came home.  The kind of guy who beat both the Pancho's.  And the kind of guy who was the top American player in both 1956 and 1958 and played on seven Davis Cup teams, compiling a record of 20 - 2.  He ultimately won the Canadian Open a couple of years after Bedard beat him and he continued to play and play.  For the bloody fun of it. 

Unlike players today, Reed had no entourage.  Watching Denis Shapovalov the other night, I saw that kind of exciting player.  He went for absolutely everything regardless of the score and the consequences.  Only 17, this kid is going to go far and I will love watching him do it.  Raonic is a tad too tall for tennis and can't get down to shots.  I am getting all this from B, who played junior Davis Cup for Canada and still plays twice a week.  As a swimmer, I never really got into tennis, but B loves it.  One of the biggest thrills in his life was taking an impromptu clinic given by Reed in Montreal at the Monkland Tennis Club.  Would any professional today just show up, gather the juniors and hold a clinic?  We all know the answer to that one.

So, we will watch the rest of the Roger's Cup unfold without the boring and studied Raonic.