Knees, stress fractures and mental distress. Oh Canada.

It may be a little hard to remember with all the injuries, career detours and mystery losses, but there was a time when anything seemed possible for Canadian tennis.

Every time a tennis fan looked up, it seemed like another wildly talented or gritty Canadian had reached a Grand Slam final. Bianca Andreescu even won one, defeating Serena Williams at the 2019 US Open when she was still a teenager and played with such creative style that she left tennis aesthetes drooling.

Recently, with all the guts (Denis Shapovalov and Felix Auger-Aliassime), stress fractures (Leylah Fernandez) and mental anguish (Milos Raonic and Andreescu) that so many players are dealing with these days, even Fernandez is unlikely to escape the 2021 USA. The Open Final can feel like it was a long time ago.

And then there was a day like Wednesday at Wimbledon, when the rain finally stopped long enough for outdoor tennis to happen, for Shapovalov and Raonic to show why there had been so much fuss in the first place. Both came back from a set down to win in four sets, giving Shapovalov a chance to look back on what it had meant to him to be a junior player from a country known mostly for its prowess in ice sports (hockey and curling) and watch. Raonic and Eugenie Bouchard almost always walk on the grass at Wimbledon.

It kind of put real faith in my eyes and Felixs eyes that it’s possible as a Canadian, Shapovalov said after defeating Moldova’s Radu Albot 5-7, 6-4, 6-2, 6-2 in the match that started on Monday. . And I’m sure generations will follow me, Felix, Bianca. Leylah, I’m sure there’s a lot more faith in the country that it’s possible, even if it’s cold or mostly winter in the country.

Apparently Canadians missed the Swedish, barely temperate champions of the 1970s, 80s and 90s like Bjorn Borg, Mats Wilander and Stefan Edberg.

Shapovalov and Raonic, who played and won their first Grand Slam match in two and a half years on Monday with a 6-7 (5), 6-4, 7-6 (5), 6-1 win over Austrian Denis Novak, will be back at it on Thursday. Both men have second-round matches, as does Fernandez. Andreescu will also be there, finally playing her first round match against Hungary’s Anna Bondar.

Auger-Aliassime, who has been nursing a sore knee all year, lost in the first round at the All England Club for the second straight year. The nagging injury and latest loss are big disappointments for Auger-Aliassime, who broke out in her late teens and whose powerful serves and movement should allow her to thrive on grass.

But a Wimbledon schedule packed with Canadians is what the sport’s higher-ups were aiming for when they set out to make Canada a top-level tennis nation nearly 20 years ago. In addition to long and cold winters, Canada seemed to have everything a country needs to achieve greatness in terms of tennis richness, diversity and a commitment to spending money to build facilities and bring in top coaches.

It built a tennis center in Montreal and satellite facilities in other major cities and began to focus on the development of young children and youth. It hired Louis Borfiga, a leading tennis mind from France who was Borg’s hitting partner, to oversee player development.

Canada has been fortunate to have players with natural talent and parents willing to back it up, with Bouchard and Raonic in the mid-2010s, and Shapovalov, Andreescu and Auger-Aliassime tearing up the junior rankings after Fernandez.

Last year’s success between Shapovalov and Auger-Aliassime led to Canada’s first Davis Cup title and the struggles have fostered camaraderie among the players. They know when others are playing, even if they are not in the same tournament.

“I’m guilty of following the results of all my Canadians,” said Fernandez, who remembers just a few years ago seeing Auger-Aliassime training a few courts away from her in Montreal and thinking, “This is inspiring.”

When Fernandez was injured last year, one of the first texts he received was from Andreescu, who has been battling all kinds of ailments seemingly since winning the 2019 US Open. Andreescu told Fernandez that he was there for him, whatever he needed, and that Fernandez was going through a tough time but would get through it.

Earlier this year, when Andreescu rolled her ankle and suffered a devastating injury at the Miami Open, Fernandez sent support back. I was like Bianca, you are strong, you will come back, you are a great tennis player and a great person.

On Wednesday, Shapovalov and Raonic found each other in the locker room as they tried to manage the rain delays that had disrupted the tournament all week.

Raonic said he had forgotten his old routine because it had been so long since he had dealt with something like that. At first he tried to keep moving to stay loose, but then thought he might have burned off too much energy.

He sat for a while with Shapovalov, who spent time with his trainer answering animal trivia questions. Raonic jumped into the game and said everyone had fun learning which sea creature can breathe through its rear end. (Turtle). There was also heated debate about the killing power of mosquitoes and sharks. Shapovalov firmly believed that sharks are scarier than malaria-carrying insects.

Finally the rain subsided along with the zoological discussion. Then it was time for Raonic to head back to the court and deliver the kind of win that once happened all the time, wearing down Novak with his explosiveness and big forehand. Later in the afternoon, when Shapovalov found his rhythm with those smooth, graceful strokes, Albot never stood a chance.

In a symbol of how difficult Canadian tennis efforts have become, both Shapovalov and Raonic may not have been at the All England Club this year.

Shapovalov has limped on and off in recent months and had to cut short his practice on grass when the pain became too much.

Raonic said during his injury battle over the last few years that he understood the idea that his life after tennis had begun. But he drove by a tennis court every day near his home in the Bahamas or saw tennis on TV while working out at a local gym, and he figured he might as well give it another try.

On Wednesday, he said he was annoyed with himself for not enjoying the moment more, returning to the All England Club, playing in the Grand Slam where he had his greatest success and helping Canada believe. According to him, it was easy to see the larger message about the often fleeting nature of success in a single day or era.

“You’re just caught up in the whole process of racing and trying to find a way to win, and it goes by really quickly,” he said. Then you can’t really enjoy the match.