RAONIC, POSPISIL TO CONTEST ATP TOUR’S FIRST-EVER ALL-CANADIAN FINAL IN WASHINGTON, D.C. BY RICKY DIMON

Written by: Staff on 3rd August 2014

ATP Tennis Tournament in Washington, DC.

RAONIC, POSPISIL TO CONTEST ATP TOUR'S FIRST-EVER ALL-CANADIAN FINAL IN WASHINGTON, D.C. BY RICKY DIMON

epa04339345 Vasek Pospisil of Canada returns a shot to Richard Gasquet of France during their semifinal singles match at the Citi Open ATP tennis tournament in Washington, DC, USA, 02 August 2014. Pospisil won the match. EPA/PETE MAROVICH |

The Canada Masters, better known as the Rogers Cup, begins next week. But Milos Raonic and Vasek Pospisil figured they might as well not wait for their time to shine. The two Canadians are though to what will be the first-ever final between two men from Canada in the history of the ATP World Tour.

As for the head-to-head history, Raonic and Pospisil will be squaring off for the sixth time in their careers when they battle for the Citi Open title on Sunday afternoon. Raonic won their only previous ATP-level encounter 6-4, 1-6, 7-6(4) last summer in the Montreal semifinals, but Pospisil leads the overall head-to-head series 3-2. Pospisil prevailed three times on the Futures circuit before Raonic got on the scoreboard with a Challenger victory in 2010.

Although he is actually one year older than Raonic at 24, Pospisil has not been on the professional scene as long and his run to the title match is far more surprising than that of his opponent. A back injury derailed the world No. 36’s start to the season, but he captured the Wimbledon doubles title with Jack Sock and has not looked back. Pospisil reached consecutive singles quarterfinals in Bogota and Atlanta, and so far this week he has taken out Rajeev Ram, Tomas Berdych, Santiago Giraldo, and Richard Gasquet.

Raonic, who has entrenched himself as a staple of the top 10, is a stellar 28-10 for the season. He made it to the French Open quarterfinals and the Wimbledon semis, a big reason why he will climb to a career-high of No. 6 in the world rankings on Monday. Remarkably consistent, Raonic has dropped his opening match of just one tournament during the 2014 campaign. The huge-serving Canadian booked his spot in the Washington, D.C. final by defeating Jack Sock, Lleyton Hewitt, Steve Johnson, and Donald Young all in straight sets.

Milos Raonic of Canada hits the ball back to Lleyton Hewitt of Australia during their men’s singles match at the Citi Open ATP tennis tournament in Washington, DC, USA, 31 July 2014. EPA/JIM LO SCALZO

Raonic has a lot going for him heading into this showdown between compatriots. He has captured five ATP titles and has contested 10 finals. Pospisil, on the other hand, is competing in his first-ever ATP title match. Additionally, Raonic completed his quarterfinal match on Friday whereas Pospisil’s third set of his match with Giraldo had to be finished on Saturday due to rain.

Whatever the outcome, hype for next week’s proceedings in Toronto will be off the charts with the host nation’s two best players in outstanding form.

“The vibe that I get is that tennis is really growing right now in Canada,” Pospisil said after beating Gasquet. “I feel like people are getting really excited about it, especially with the results of Canadian players this year.”

Ricky contributes to 10sballs.com and also maintains his own tennis website, The Grandstand.

Topics: Atp, milos raonic, Ricky Dimon, Rogers Cup, Sports, Tennis, Vasek Pospisil, Washington DC

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10sBalls_com says:

August 3, 2014 at 9:03 am

@milosraonic, @VasekPospisil TO CONTEST #ATP TOUR’S FIRST-EVER ALL-CANADIAN FINAL IN WASHINGTON, D.C. BY RICKY DIMON- http://t.co/NBteLl2b3o
RD_Tennistalk says:

August 3, 2014 at 10:03 am

RT @10sBalls_com: @milosraonic, @VasekPospisil TO CONTEST #ATP TOUR’S FIRST-EVER ALL-CANADIAN FINAL IN WASHINGTON, D.C. BY RICKY DIMON- htt…