Vasek Pospisil plays a forehand during his Wimbledon match against Albert Ramos-Vinolas on June 28, 2016 in London, England.Julian Finney/Getty Images
The hashtag #AnythingsPospisil became a Twitter sensation in the summer of 2015, as Vancouver's Vasek Pospisil made an unlikely run to the Wimbledon quarter-finals. Those were heady days – and elite company – for the unseeded Canadian. He'd been solidly ensconced in the world's top-60 for going on three years; he'd won the 2014 Wimbledon men's doubles crown with American Jack Sock; and he has been as responsible as anyone for Canada's continuing presence in the World Group of Davis Cup competition.
Even if Pospisil hasn't exactly pushed Milos Raonic for the rank of top Canadian, his presence on the international scene has given Canada an admirable one-two punch.
But Pospisil has fallen on hard times of late, and on Monday, when the ATP released its updated weekly rankings, he had fallen out of the top 100 for the first time since July, 2013.
A match record of 5-18 in the calendar year will do that for you.
Pospisil's loss to Yuichi Sugita in Washington last week dropped him to 101st in the world, but the more precipitous decline came weeks earlier, when he plunged to 99 from 44 following a first-round exit at Wimbledon.
So while Raonic, the No.-4 seed at the Rogers Cup, has his eyes firmly trained on a championship run this week, one could argue that this tournament is even more important to Pospisil as he tries to rebuild his ranking.
Pospisil opens this week's tournament Tuesday night with an evening match against Frenchman Jérémy Chardy. If he advances, he faces a possible second-round match against Gaël Monfils, who won the Citi Open in Washington on Sunday.
A good week here would help restore Pospisil's confidence heading into the Olympics in Rio, and the final two key events of the summer hardcourt season – Cincinnati and the U.S. Open.
Pospisil, generally a pleasant, upbeat, outgoing player, says he knows what's needed to turn those close losses into victories again. Where many players focus on improving the weaknesses in their games, Pospisil suggested he needed to spend more time maximizing his strengths.
"You win matches with your exceptional shots that can make a difference," Pospisil said. "In my case, the serve and the forehand are my strengths. I've just been touching up on those two to try to make them weapons again – and I think it's the right move at this stage.
"I'm feeling pretty optimistic about the coming weeks and months. I feel like things are going to turn around soon. I haven't had a very good year – that would be an understatement, I guess. I'm training hard as I always do, but more importantly, I'm training on all the right things."
Proof that anything's possible at the Rogers Cup came during Monday's opening day of action when the first two Canadians on the court, wildcards Steven Diez and Peter Polansky, both registered three-set upset victories. Diez started things off with an impressive 3-6, 6-3, 6-2 victory over the rising British star Kyle Edmund, while Polansky rallied for a 4-6, 6-3, 6-0 victory over American qualifier Tim Smyczek.
Both matches were played before small but supportive crowds on an outside court. And no one understands better than Pospisil the value of the home-court advantage and playing matches in front a heavy pro-Canadian fan base.
"I like situations like this – let's say pressure situations of playing at home – it feeds me," he said. "It gives me confidence in a weird way. You feel like they've got your back; and the crowd is really pulling for you hard. It matters to them how you do." I feel like I'm suddenly trying to connect with the crowd, as if they're also playing with me. It's a different feeling altogether … and for me that's a tremendous boost in energy."
Pospisil's results at the 2013 Rogers Cup, where he made the semi-finals but lost a tough three-setter to Raonic, was really the turning point in his career: It vaulted him into the top 50, where you can make a steady, decent living playing tennis professionally.
Three years later, he needs a repeat performance of that breakthrough, because life outside the top 100 can be a scuffling, challenging existence. His optimistic side believes it can be done. After all, anything's Pospisil.