Can A Canadian Win Wimbledon?
It has been three years now since Bianca Andreescu ended the long and painful wait for a Canadian athlete to win a tennis Grand Slam after defeating the legendary Serena Williams in straight sets at the 2019 US Open.
A few had come close before. Back in 2014, the popular Eugenie Bouchard built on semi-final appearances in Australia and France before breezing her way through to the Wimbledon final without dropping a set.
History had already been made as the Montreal star became the first Canadian tennis player of any gender to reach a Grand Slam final. Coming up against Petra Kvitova was a step too far and the no.13 seed slumped to a straight sets defeat in front of the British crowd.
Two years later and it was the turn of Milos Raonic to see if he could end the wait. A bumpy trip to the last four saw the Ontario man drawn against tennis royalty in Roger Federer, who had won his last 10 semi-finals matches at Wimbledon.
A five-set thriller saw Raonic come out on top and set up a final showdown against home favourite Andy Murray. In hindsight, perhaps the gruelling battle with Federer took its toll and the visitor struggled to a 6-4, 7-6, 7-6 loss on centre court.
And so the wait went on, until Andreescu shocked the world and kept her nerve against a late Williams onslaught that saw the American claw her way back from 5-1 down in the second set to 5-5.
After so many failed attempts, it was so very nearly two Canadian triumphs in two years as Leylah Annie Fernandez fought her way to the 2021 US Open final.
History was again made, but not in the favour of Canada this time as Emma Raducanu became the youngest Grand Slam winner since Maria Sharapova in 2004.
As it stands, there have been multiple near misses, but just the one piece of glory in the shape of that Andreescu victory two years ago.
However, Canadian tennis is in a very strong place right now, so hopefully the wait for a second major title won’t be too long.
With Wimbledon starting this Monday, let’s take a look at the betting and see if any Canadian stars can reign supreme in London.
First up, the fellas.
Felix Auger-Aliassime +1600
Auger-Aliassime is the sixth seed at this year’s Wimbledon, and is the best shout in the Canadian betting. The 21-year old has tasted victory already this year after a straight sets victory over Stefanos Tsitsipas in Rotterdam, but comes into the biggest tennis tournament of all knowing that he will have to do things the hard way to win his first major.
Drawn on the same side of the draw as 22-time Grand Slam champions Rafael Nadal, the Quebec star will have his work cut out over the next two weeks.
He has shown his Grand Slam pedigree on more than one occasion during his short career to date, reaching the quarter-final during Wimbledon last year as well as the Australian Open back in January.
His best major showing to date came in the 2021 US Open, where he made his way to the last four only to be well beaten by eventual winner Daniil Medvedev.
The time when Novak Djokovic doesn’t dominate the tennis odds boards is approaching, but it isn’t here just yet. However, at odds of +1600, Auger-Aliassime is seen as one of the main contenders this year.
Denis Shapovalov +10000
Denis Shapovalov should come into this tournament full of confidence after reaching the semi-final stage last year.
Once again, our Canadian hopes were shattered by the eventual winner as Djokovic beat the popular left-hander in straight sets on his way to yet another Grand Slam.
A trip to the quarter-final stage in the Australian Open back in January proves that the 23-year old has the fight for the big stage, but a tough draw means that victory at odds of +10000 will be difficult to come by.
Bianca Andreescu +2800
Despite never making it beyond the first round at Wimbledon, Bianca Andreescu is hopefully heading to the United Kingdom with her spirits high.
The Ontario player was overwhelmed with emotion after reaching her first final in over a year at last week’s Bad Homburg tournament, and proved to herself and onlookers that she can compete at the top after some time out with mental health struggles.
Despite the pressures of heading into Wimbledon as the only Canadian Grand Slam winner to date, the 22-year old insists she is approaching this tournament with a view of having fun.
The former world number four hasn’t had much to shout about on the court since that US Open victory back in 2019, but her showing in Germany last week suggests that she shouldn’t be written off at odds of +2800.
Rebecca Marino +35000
Rebecca Marino is making her first Wimbledon main draw appearance since 2011, when she reached the second round. Her best major showing to date came in the same year when she reached the third round of the French Open.
The British Columbian will do well to better that showing with number three seed Katarzyna Kawa awaiting in the second round should the 31-year old win her opener.
Sure, we’re not pinning our hopes on Marino to add to that one Canadian major title. However, in Auger-Aliassime, Shapovalov and Andreescu, there is a lot to shout about on the famous grass courts of Wimbledon.
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