When it comes to Canadian tennis players, Vasek Pospisil is usually the guy you never hear much about. While most media outlets have rightly focused much of their attention on successes of Eugenie Bouchard and Milos Raonic, the 25-year-old has managed to grab the spotlight at Wimbledon in 2015.
With Bouchard in the midst of collapse the sport has rarely seen, Raonic coming off an injury and an early exit, Pospisil picked a perfect time to reach the first Grand Slam quarterfinal of his young career. After rallying from two sets down to upset the number 22 seed Viktor Troicki 4-6, 6-7(4), 6-4, 6-3, 6-3 in a thrilling five-setter, the kid is headed into uncharted territory.
While Bouchard and Raonic stole the headlines at the All England Club in 2014 with their surprising runs, Pospisil actually teamed with American Jack Sock to take home the Men's Doubles crown over the legendary Bryan Brothers. It was a result absolutely no one saw coming but unfortunately for them, unless we are talking about success in Men's and/or Women's draw, few seem to take notice.
Just go and ask Daniel Nestor, who is by far and away the most decorated Canadian tennis player in history and yet you would be hard pressed to find many sports fans across the country who even know who he is or what he looks like. It may not be fair but that is how it works and to be perfectly honest, that is part of what makes how things have played out this week so interesting.
In a tournament in which Pospisil has already knocked off Troicki and the always unpredictable Fabio Fognini, he will now get the opportunity to go big game hunting in the quarters. On Wednesday morning, the youngster will be taking a major step up in weight class, as he will face two-time Grand Slam winner Andy Murray.
With Murray playing the best tennis we have seen from him in roughly two years time, chances are the 56th ranked Canadian will see his magical run come to an end, but the experience and confidence he will gain could prove to be priceless. While Pospisil has enjoyed some success at the Davis Cup level, his consistency has always been an issue. Something which is not exactly uncommon when it comes to players ranked outside of the top ten.
With a result like this under his belt, who is to say the young Canadian can't use this as a springboard to become a far more prominent figure on the ATP Tour? While the casual fan probably has no idea, Pospisil actually reached number 25 in the rankings back in February 2014 and he is more than capable of holding his own against the vast majority of players in the world.
Regardless of how things ultimately play out against Andy Murray, one can only hope Vasek Pospisil makes the most of the situation and uses it to help him become a better player and finish the second half of the 2015 season in style.