Canada and tennis ? Really ? Yes the country known in sporting terms for dominating ice hockey and curling is prospering in a summer sport . And at least among the men , Canada is trumping the U.S. , its more heralded and populous neighbor . Early last year , Milos Raonic achieved a significant milestone when he became the first non-U.S. male to assume the position of North American No . 1 since rankings began in 1973 . `` Did n't expect that one to happen , '' John McEnroe , the controversial , charismatic and talented former No . 1 , said in a conference call . `` I guess I learned to expect the unexpected . '' While Raonic 's feat said much about the amply discussed state of the U.S. men -- from having 42 players in the top 100 this week in 1984 , only six found themselves there at the start of this week 's U.S. Open -- it was the beginning of an unprecedented boom in Canadian tennis thanks to the 23-year-old , Eugenie Bouchard and Vasek Pospisil . Boom in singles , that is . Daniel Nestor is one of the greatest doubles players of all time and continues to collect titles at the age of nearly 42 . Raonic , still the continent 's top male player and ranked sixth overall , is frequently mentioned in the same breath as Bulgaria 's Grigor Dimitrov when it comes to players able to threaten the `` Big Four '' of Roger Federer , Rafael Nadal , Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray and potentially claim a grand slam title . He has bettered that illustrious quartet in one area this year , despite suffering from a lower leg injury in January and February . Raonic is the lone player to reach at least the quarterfinals in six Masters events . `` It 's been great , '' Raonic told CNN . `` I 've put myself in weekend parts of tournaments , in the quarters or better most of the time so I 've given myself a shot against the top guys . '' No wonder he has high hopes at the year 's final grand slam . `` I believe I can win the tournament , so that 's what I 'm pushing to do , '' Raonic said . He is already the highest-ranked Canadian man in history , easily surpassing Canadian-turned-Brit Greg Rusedski 's No . 41 in 1994 , and was the first man from his nation in more than a century to reach the semifinals at Wimbledon . With a serve considered one of the best in the game and a temperament as unwavering as his well-manicured hair , he should be around for a while , too . He emerged earlier than Bouchard , but the 20-year-old -- whose first language is English , despite the francophone sounding family name -- has turned into a media darling a la a trio of North American blondes of decades past , Chris Evert , Tracy Austin and the 1984 U.S. Open semifinalist from Canada , Carling Bassett . She even has her own fan club , the `` Genie Army . '' Given the name Eugenie because of her mother 's fascination with British royalty , destiny appeared to be on Bouchard 's side when she made July 's Wimbledon final -- she was the first player representing Canada to play in a grand slam singles final . But Petra Kvitova scuppered any hopes of a Hollywood ending with a masterful display of power tennis that left even the feisty Bouchard in tears . Yet , she has reached at least the semifinals of the year 's first three majors , something 17-time grand slam champion Serena Williams and five-time grand slam champion Maria Sharapova -- Bouchard 's idol -- did n't accomplish . Bouchard 's loss of form entering the U.S. Open is likely a slight wobble instead of a longstanding concern . High expectations do n't faze her . `` It 's a position I want to be in , '' she told reporters on the eve of the New York event . Pospisil trumped Raonic and Bouchard in one department -- becoming a grand slam winner at the highest level . He and American partner Jack Sock triumphed in the men 's doubles at Wimbledon . The baby-faced Pospisil , whose weapons are his serve and forehand , faced Raonic in the first all-Canadian final on the men 's tour in Washington in early August . He broke into the top 30 this year in singles and , if not for a back injury , might have gone farther . `` It was tough because I was gathering so much momentum throughout 2013 and then I felt like I was playing great tennis at the start of this year , '' Pospisil told CNN before he lost his first-round match at the U.S. Open . `` Then I hit a bit of a wall there , a big speed bump . '' The rapid success has surprised Davis Cup captain Martin Laurendeau , who achieved a career high of No . 90 in 1988 . With Laurendeau at the helm , Canada surfaced in a maiden Davis Cup semifinal in 2013 . `` We had a few athletes spread out during the generations doing a few good things here and there , but never really was there a club like this where they broke through on the international stage at the same time , '' Laurendeau told CNN . The inevitable question is , why now ? `` Tennis Canada 's development programs , especially in Montreal , have been excellent , but in many ways the best players -- Raonic in Toronto , Bouchard in Montreal and Pospisil in Vancouver -- owe the most to their families and individual coaches , '' Canada 's longest serving tennis writer , Tom Tebbutt , told CNN . Touching more on Tennis Canada 's contribution , Laurendeau brought up several factors . The focus , he said , has shifted to high performance and development . More resources , he added , have allowed the governing body to hire experienced coaches from other countries -- Laurendeau cited Louis Borfiga , who worked extensively in France -- and junior players can attend the tournaments they want rather simply choose the cheapest option . `` Louis came in and helped to change the mentality of the Canadian tennis players , '' said Laurendeau . `` I do believe we believe more in our capabilities to break through . `` The mentality is a big part of it , definitely . '' To that end , Bouchard was n't just happy to reach the Wimbledon final , and Raonic said Wimbledon was bittersweet . He took pride in getting to the last four but was `` upset '' with his straight-set loss to Federer . Thus instead of doing media rounds when he got back home , Raonic almost immediately went straight back to training . `` As soon as I got my time off , I actually left Canada , '' said Raonic . `` I wanted to be away from the things that might follow after tennis . `` When I came back and started training , I trained away from the tennis facility and actually ( trained ) where Toronto 's ( MLS ) team trains . `` I think it was a great result in general at Wimbledon , but I was upset with the way it finished so I wanted to put that behind me and get my nose back into the work . '' Now , according to Laurendeau , the key is to maintain the momentum . Having a major star or handful of pros thriving is no guarantee of sustained success . Take Sweden or Brazil . Sweden , the home of Bjorn Borg and Stefan Edberg , does n't have a men 's player in the top 200 . Brazil , meanwhile , could n't capitalize on Gustavo `` Guga '' Kuerten 's enormous popularity . Helping Canada is its tennis infrastructure -- a major training hub lies in Montreal -- and more people in the country , according to information provided by Tennis Canada , are playing the sport . The performances of Raonic , Bouchard and Pospisil should maintain the trend for the foreseeable future . `` When things get hot but there 's no structure behind it , well , there are so many options for kids to go into that are exciting , '' said Laurendeau . `` You want to pick up the game , you go here . How old are you ? You can go here . Where do you live ? You can go here . `` That 's very important . When I look back at the Guga era , he was probably one of the greatest known sports figures in the world at one time . `` Especially in Brazil , tennis was very popular . Why did n't they see a boom behind Guga ? It was because that was lacking . It 's important for us to have a structure in place -- and we do have it in place . ''
U.S. 's Milos Raonic is the top-ranked North American male on the tennis tour . Early last year , no one could have forecast that and the U.S. men 's slump . Canadian tennis is on a high with Raonic , Vasek Pospisil and Bouchard . Bouchard and Raonic excelled in Wimbledon singles and North American won in doubles .