RetirementsPospisil retires following emotional final match in TorontoNestor, Dancevic pay tribute to Canadian greatAndrew Eichenholz/ATP Tour Vasek Pospisil celebrates his retirement after his match against Facundo Bagnis on Sunday evening in Toronto. By Andrew EichenholzIf a picture is worth a thousand words, the smile on Vasek Pospisil’s face twelve years ago in Montreal was worth a million. The Canadian had just defeated Top 10 star Tomas Berdych in a tight final-set tie-break in the third round of his home ATP Masters 1000 event and appeared not just ecstatic, but in disbelief.“I don't really know what's going on now,” Pospisil said at the time. “Right now it's okay. It was pretty emotional, I mean, just the hard work that I've put in. To have my first Top‑10 win here, in front of that crowd, was extremely emotional. I was having difficulty controlling it.”It is fitting that more than a decade after announcing his arrival on the ATP Tour with a semi-final run at the National Bank Open Presented by Rogers, Pospisil brought his career to a close at the same tournament on Sunday in Toronto, when he fell to Facundo Bagnis in front of an adoring crowd.It was a special celebration of the 35-year-old’s career in front of his home fans, one more opportunity for the Canadian to perform for his family, friends and fans."It's just [been] an incredible journey. I'm so grateful, honestly, [for] the career I've had, the opportunities the sport has given me, the people I've met along the way that are friends for life," Pospisil said during a ceremony after the match. "Coming from a small town in B.C., it felt like a bit of a pipe dream back then and it just felt like a completely different world. One thing leads to another and you start improving and playing some small tournaments, bigger tournaments and suddenly you're here."It's easy to lose perspective sometimes that this is truly a dream come true for me."Pospisil played in qualifying at a tour-level event here in Toronto in 2008 as an 18-year-old and has created plenty of memories in his career since. In 2014 he won his first tour-level doubles title at Wimbledon alongside Jack Sock, and in 2022 he helped Canada to Davis Cup glory after more than a decade competing for his country.“Third one I would say my breakthrough event in Montreal at the Masters,” Pospisil said Saturday during his pre-tournament press conference. “That was just such a crazy emotional week for me and like I said it was my breakthrough. That was my first real big result on the big stage and when you do something for the first time like that, it sticks with you a little bit longer. There are more emotions that are involved in a moment like that.”Former doubles World No. 1 Daniel Nestor watched Pospisil grow throughout his career, from a rising junior to someone who shared the court with him at some of the world’s biggest events. They even reached the bronze-medal match together at the Rio Olympics in 2016.“I remember when he first came on our Davis Cup team when he was 16, 17 and he was a little bit green and he was just so excited to be there, always had a really great attitude,” Nestor said. “I saw him go from that to carrying Canada into the World Group against Israel, which I think was his coming-out moment and then basically won the whole tie…“I consider him Canada’s best all-around player because he’s had success in singles, Top 30. In doubles he got to the Top 5 and won Wimbledon. It was impressive.”Former World No. 65 and current Canadian Davis Cup captain Frank Dancevic, who coached Pospisil for three years, said: “We’ve known each other for a very long time. I remember Vasek as a junior came onto the Tour when he was 18 years old and you could see then that there was a lot of potential in his game. Obviously you’re never sure of how somebody is going to succeed on Tour, but he had an amazing career.“We started off as friends when he first joined the Davis Cup team [and came onto the] Tour and we’ve remained friends since. I had the pleasure of working with him for a few years in 2019, ’20 and ’21. It was a great experience for both of us and it’s just an amazing career to be proud of.”Pospisil’s final match Sunday evening was emotional in that it was his final time competing on the ATP Tour, but it was also a celebration of the Canadian's career. Now, the 35-year-old will step into his next chapter.“I think I’m set up pretty well for whatever I do after tennis. I think the number one thing is you have to be passionate about what you do and if you’re not, then it really feels like work and it can be very tiring and can wear you down,” Pospisil said. “But if you’re passionate about what you do, then it gives you energy and I think it gives you the opportunity to excel in whatever it is you choose to do.“I’m going to make sure that after tennis that I’m passionate about it. That’s number one. I feel fortunate that I have the ability to make those choices.”
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