Milos Raonic the last Canadian standing at the Rogers Cup

TORONTO — While not the official holiday, Wednesday at the Rogers Cup was known as Canada Day. With five Canadians into the second round, all were on the courts of Toronto’s Aviva Centre at some point throughout Day 5.

That collective effort didn’t go unnoticed, especially by the top-ranked Canadian Milos Raonic.

“When players used to come here at this tournament, it's not necessarily the best thing to say, but if you drew a Canadian you were feeling pretty good about yourself, which was unfortunate. But I think that whole stigma — that whole observation of the situation has definitely changed,” the seventh-ranked Raonic said. “It's a good time, and it's a good time for Canadian tennis.”

Despite the positive first-round push from the Canadians, in the end Raonic was the last man standing as the four others — Peter Polansky, Steven Diez, Vasek Pospisil and Denis Shapovalov — went 0-4 on the day, leaving the 25-year-old from Thornhill to hold up the Canadian flag at the home tournament. Before a crowded Centre Court, Raonic beat Yen-Hsun Lu 6-3, 6-3, advancing to the round of 16 and will play American Jared Donaldson next.

While the first-round showing from the Canadians would have no doubt pleased the tournament organizers, it’s Raonic who remains the best shot to claim the title. Across the grounds of the tennis facility, it’s his face that’s plastered on posters, promotional material and the event’s website. He is, quite literally, the face of Canadian tennis.

And while he’s consistently the hometown favourite when he plays this event, this year he comes in as a legitimate threat to win.

Coming off the best result of his career as the Wimbledon finalist, Raonic’s odds in Toronto are buoyed by the absence of the elite upperclassmen of the ATP Tour, namely Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Andy Murray. Those withdrawals bumped him up to the fourth seed here, behind Novak Djokovic, Stan Wawrinka and Kei Nishikori.

The draw gods, however, were not smiling down on Raonic as he landed in Djokovic’s half, meaning he’ll have to take out the world No. 1 — possible, just ask Sam Querrey — if he wants a place in the final.

But first thing’s first: Raonic had to get through his second-round match against the 70th ranked Lu.

It was Raonic’s first time on court at the Rogers Cup this year, thanks to a first-round bye, and the crowd seemed excited to see him — perhaps too much so. Multiple times in the first set they were asked by the chair umpire Fergus Murphy to quiet down, including a private suite that was singled out for being too noisy.

But Raonic appeared to block out the noise as he cruised ahead in the first set, breaking Lu to go up 3-2. As is his nature, Raonic came out firing his serve in the first. In total, he missed just three first serves, equaling an 85 per cent efficiency rate. He hit three aces, 12 winners and only two unforced errors in the set, which he won handily 6-3.

Raonic faced his first bit of trouble in his third service game of the second set. A double fault led Lu toward his first break-point opportunity of the match. But an error by Lu, plus two aces erased any threat. Lu followed that up by handing Raonic his own break opportunity, which Raonic didn’t waste, converting it with an inside out forehand to go up 4-2 lead. Raonic would eventually serve it out, winning the match 6-3, 6-3.

Overall, Raonic lost only 11 points in nine service games, hit eight aces and looked in control the entire time. In the past, Raonic said he has battled nerves and pressure to play his best while on the courts of Toronto and Montreal. But he said this time around, his coach Carlos Moya gave him a renewed perspective.

“He sort of put me in the thought process of, ‘you don't get to do this that often. Make sure you enjoy it.’ I think once I used that nervous energy in the right outlet, it made it much better for me,” he said.

For back-to-back nights, Raonic will kick off the night session. On Thursday, he plays his third-round match, followed by Djokovic’s match against Radek Stepanek.

“I just got to deal with what's ahead of me and be in the moment. The other guys play in the same conditions as I,” Raonic said about playing for a second straight night.

While Raonic’s post-match press conference was going on, fellow Canadian 17-year-old Denis Shapovalov was on the court outside fighting to join him in the third round. Ultimately, Shapovalov would fall to No. 40 Grigor Dimitrov 6-4, 6-3, but not without impressing many, including Raonic.

“I watched a few of his matches at Wimbledon. He was playing great. He played great against Nick the other night. I believe right now he's playing pretty well in his match,” he said. “But it's an exciting time for Canadian tennis. It's a big spotlight, so it's a pleasure to share.”

For now, though, as the last Canadian alive in the draw, the spotlight at the Rogers Cup remains solely on Raonic.

OTHER CANADIAN RESULTS:

Early in the day, wild cards Peter Polansky fell to Radek Stepanek 7-6(5), 6-4, while Steven Diez lost to Bernard Tomic 6-3, 7-6(4).

Canada’s second-ranked player Vasek Pospisil lost a tough one to Gael Monfils on the Grandstand Court by a score of 7-6(6), 6-0. Afterward, a dejected Pospisil said the match was frustrating. “Just kind of bottled up six months of frustration, kind of erupted in that second set.