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Bounced in the first round of singles, Vasek Pospisil is on a Wimbledon doubles roll

stephanie myles

WIMBLEDON – He lost in the first round of singles, but Canadian Vasek Pospisil was already beginning to feel like his old self again after a season of back woes.

And a partnership with ebullient American Jack Sock, which almost never happened, has propelled him into the semifinals of the doubles, which is a terrific consolation prize.

The 24-year-old from Vancouver is yet another element in the Canadian takeover of this event, after a 6-4, 3-6, 7-6, 6-4 victory over No. 2 seeds Alexander Peya and Bruno Soares in the quarter-finals Thursday.

"He’s a fun guy. We get along great. That’s one of the reasons we’re playing so well together," Pospisil said. "To be honest, I haven’t put any emphasis on doubles at all the last two years but I lost early here. A Grand Slam is different; when you play Grand Slam doubles you play full out and want to do well."

They almost didn't play at all. Sock texted Pospisil a few weeks back, near the entry deadline. And at the time, the Canadian's back situation was unstable. "I told him he had to be okay with there being a 60-70 per cent chance I'd just pull out on him and not play at all," Pospisil said. "He was okay with it; I guess he didn't have anybody else solid, or he just figured (he'd take the chance)."

Here's what they looked like in their third-round match.

After a routine first round, Sock and Pospisil met the No. 8 seeds, Rohan Bopanna and Aisam Qureshi. There was some drama in that one, which was played out over several days because of the rain.

They were first cancelled on Saturday, which put Pospisil into Wimbledon's second week – a milestone however you do it – having played just one doubles match. On Monday, the match was stopped after three sets, but not before this drama played out, as Qureshi hurt his back reaching for a serve.

He continued on, but Pospisil and Sock obviously had the edge, until the rains came and gave Qureshi and Bopanna a reprieve.

The Can-American duo returned on Tuesday and won it in five sets. The third round against Ante Pavic and Andre Sa was another fairly routine victory. And then came the big one, the upset over the No. 2 seeds Thursday. "We were just talking (before the tournament) and saying that if my back was good that we’d be a dangerous team, and not many teams would want to play against us," Pospisil said.

Pospisil and Sock will play dramatic No. 5 seeds Leander Paes and Radek Stepanek in the semifinals, after the former Australian Open champions upset Canadian Daniel Nestor and partner Nenad Zimonjic Thursday.

It would have been a great clash if Pospisil, who regularly plays Davis Cup doubles with Nestor, had squared off against his mentor. And certainly the 24-year-old never thought he would be in the Wimbledon doubles semifinals – and Nestor would not. "Nestor is such a legend, obviously. But at the same time you never know in doubles, anything can happen. There’s a lot of good teams," he said.

Pospisil said he would take some confidence out of the run, use it as a kickstart for the rest of the season on the singles court. He's getting sharper, because what he's been lacking are game situations and match play. With the best-of-five set format for men's doubles at Wimbedon, he's getting it.

"It’s incredible, especially here at Wimbledon; it’s arguably the biggest one of them all. Obviously I would have liked to do a better run in singles, but doing it in doubles is pretty awesome, too" he said. "It’s nice to be in the semis, and we’re not done yet. We’re a dangerous team for sure."