Opinion | Raonic & Co hope to prove Canadians’ sporting worth beyond the ice
In a country dominated by hockey, nice-guy sport stars may need to be a bit more ruthless to succeed in other sports
As Toronto’s Milos Raonic was preparing to meet Scotland’s Andy Murray last week in the final of Wimbledon, proud Canadians all over Hong Kong were sitting down in front of their TVs or flocking to bars to support the towering 25-year-old with the howitzer serve – and for good reason.
He was the first male player from his country to appear in the final of a tennis grand slam. Naturally, the home crowd and assorted dignitaries in the Royal Box were pulling for Murray, who was a prohibitive favourite.
But regardless, after a century or two of watching everyone else enjoy their native sons in tennis’ biggest final, Canadians were going to thoroughly enjoy their long overdue moment.
The son of a nuclear engineer and computer engineer, Raonic emigrated to Canada from war-torn Montenegro at the age of three.
He is, not surprisingly, an unfailingly nice and cultured young man.Raonic spent an off day during this year’s Australian Open visiting the National Gallery of Victoria’s exhibit of Andy Warhol and Chinese dissident Ai Weiwei’s art.
There is a pride, a very Canadian pride I guess, in Raonic being a well-rounded human being with a profound intellectual curiosity
Asked at one in his post-match press conferences for his impression of the show, his face lit up.