Robert Bédard (born 13 September 1931) is a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

former

tennis Tennis is a racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent ( singles) or between two teams of two players each ( doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket that is strung with cord to strike a hollow rubber ball ...

player and educator. He is the most recent Canadian winner of the Canadian Open Tennis Championships. Bédard was considered among the top ten clay court players in the world and was the top-ranked Canadian singles player in ten years between 1955 and 1965. Bédard won three Canadian Open singles titles in 1955 (over Henri Rochon in the final), 1957 (over

Ramanathan Krishnan Ramanathan Krishnan (born 11 April 1937) is a retired tennis player from India who was among the world's leading players in the 1950s and 1960s. He was twice a semifinalist at Wimbledon in 1960 and 1961, reaching as high as World No. 3 in Potte ...

in the final) and 1958 (over Whitney Reed in the final). Bédard won a record seven Quebec Open singles championships and two Ontario Open singles titles. He won the U.S. Eastern Clay Court Championships in 1960. His career titles won was 30 tournaments, mostly on clay, in a very restricted playing career often confined to just the summer months. Bédard represented Canada in Davis Cup play for many years, reaching North America Zone and Interzone Finals in 1953, 1955, and 1959. During his career, he defeated No. 1 players of 20 different countries, including Australia and the U.S.. Bédard was a multi-sport athlete and was offered professional contracts with the

New York Rangers The New York Rangers are a professional ice hockey team based in the New York City borough of Manhattan. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference. The team plays its home ...

ice hockey team and the

Cleveland Indians The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. Since , they have played at Progressive Fi ...

baseball team, which he declined in favour of a career in academia. He became the principal of St. Andrew's College, an elite private preparatory collegiate, from 1981 to 1997.

Tennis career

Summary

Born in

Saint-Hyacinthe, Quebec Saint-Hyacinthe (; French: ) is a city in southwestern Quebec east of Montreal on the Yamaska River. The population as of the 2021 Canadian census was 57,239. The city is located in Les Maskoutains Regional County Municipality of the Montér� ...

, Bédard began playing tennis at the relatively late age of 15, and tennis was always his second sport to ice hockey. Bédard continued to play minor league ice hockey during the winter months and minor league baseball during the summer months. Bédard is the most recent Canadian to win the Canadian Open men's singles championship, triumphing in 1955 (defeating Henri Rochon in the final), 1957 (defeating

in a four sets final), and 1958 (defeating Whitney Reed in the final). He won the doubles title three times, in 1955, 1957, and 1959 with compatriot Don Fontana. He won the mixed doubles title in 1959 partnering Mariette Laframboise. Bédard holds the record at the Canadian Open Championships for the most appearances with 17. He won the Montreal Cup at age 20. Bédard won a record seven Quebec Open Championships singles titles between 1955 and 1970, two Ontario Open singles titles, six Oakville Invitational singles titles, and three Nova Scotia Championships. He won the U.S. Eastern Clay Court Championships singles title in 1960 in his only appearance at the event. Bédard competed in the

French Championships The French Open (french: Internationaux de France de tennis), also known as Roland-Garros (), is a major tennis tournament held over two weeks at the Stade Roland Garros in Paris, France, beginning in late May each year. The tournament and ven ...

twice, Wimbledon four times, and the

U.S. Nationals United States nationality law details the conditions in which a person holds United States nationality. In the United States, nationality is typically obtained through provisions in the U.S. Constitution, various laws, and international agree ...

eleven times. His best showing at a grand slam event was reaching the round of 32, which he did once at both Roland Garros and Wimbledon, both in 1954, and four times at Forest Hills, in 1955, 1956, 1959, and in 1961. Despite having a very limited time in tennis play, in many years playing tournaments only in the summer months, Bédard was an outstanding clay court player, with 30 tournament wins against many well-known clay specialists. During his career, Bédard defeated No. 1 players of 20 different countries, including Australia (

Adrian Quist Adrian Karl Quist (23 January 191317 November 1991) was an Australian tennis player. Biography Adrian Quist was born in Medindie, South Australia. His father was Karl Quist, who had been a noted interstate cricketer, and owned a sporting goods ...

Roy Emerson Roy Stanley Emerson (born 3 November 1936) is an Australian former tennis player who won 12 Grand Slam singles titles and 16 Grand Slam doubles titles, for a total of 28 Grand Slam titles. He is the only male player to have completed a caree ...

), the U.S. ( Whitney Reed,

Dick Savitt Richard Savitt (March 4, 1927 – January 6, 2023) was an American tennis player. In 1951, at the age of 24, he won both the Australian and Wimbledon men's singles championships. Savitt was mostly ranked world No. 2 the same year behind fellow ...

), Great Britain ( Bobby Wilson, Mike Sangster), Canada ( Lorne Main, Henri Rochon, Don McCormick, Jim Boyce), Italy (

Nicola Pietrangeli Nicola "Nicky" Pietrangeli (; born 11 September 1933) is a former Italian tennis player. He won two singles titles at the French Championships and is considered by many to be Italy's greatest tennis champion. Biography Born 11 September 1933, in ...

, Orlando Sirola), Sweden (

Sven Davidson Sven Viktor Davidson (13 July 1928 – 28 May 2008) was a Swedish tennis player who became the first Swede to win a Grand Slam title when he won the French Championships in 1957, beating Ashley Cooper and Herbert Flam. Career Davidson also ...

, Ulf Schmidt), France ( Paul Remy, Pierre Darmon), Germany (Rupert Huber), Belgium ( Jacques Brichant), Denmark (

Kurt Nielsen Kurt Nielsen (19 November 1930 – 11 June 2011) was a Danish tennis player. He was born in Copenhagen, and was the first Danish tennis player ever to have played in a men's singles final in a Grand Slam tournament. Nielsen reached the singl ...

, Torben Ulrich), Mexico ( Mario Llamas, Rafael Osuna), Guatemala (Juan Jose Hermosilla), Cuba ( Reynaldo Garrido), Brazil ( Armando Vieira), Ecuador (

Eduardo Zuleta Eduardo Zuleta (born 19 November 1935)Eduardo Zuleta
at Gordon Forbes,

Bob Mark Robert 'Bob' Mark (28 November 1937 – 21 July 2006) was a professional tennis player from Australia. Mark won the Australian Men's Doubles title in 1959, 1960 and 1961 partnering Rod Laver. With Sandra Reynolds, he won the 1960 Australian Mi ...

), Rhodesia ( Adrian Bey), India (

), Viet Nam (Christian Duxin), Philippines ( Willie Hernandez). Bédard defeated many World top ten players, of whom Savitt, Emerson, Osuna achieved World No. 1 ranking, Davidson achieved World No. 2, Quist, Pietrangeli, Krishnan achieved World No. 3, Nielsen, Bryan Grant achieved World No. 6, Sangster, Scott, and Holmberg achieved World No. 7, and Schmidt, Darmon, Mark, achieved World No. 8. Reed was ranked No. 1 in the U.S. and Straight Clark was ranked No. 5 in the U.S.

College tennis player

During the 1952–53 school year, Bédard attended

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California ...

on a tennis scholarship provided by his home community supporters in Sherbrooke, Quebec. This would be his only formal tennis coaching, and he was otherwise a self-taught player. During that same scholastic year, Bédard's fellow Canadian tennis player and later Davis Cup teammate Don Fontana was also in the UCLA tennis program on a tennis scholarship. Bédard and Fontana played against Bill Tilden and his student in possibly the final matches of Tilden's life, shortly before he died.

Amateur

1952-1953

Bédard won the Montreal Cup in August 1952 beating Jack Spencer in the final. Bédard also won the Nova Scotia Championships that year. In 1953, Bédard reached the semi finals of the Quebec championships, also known as the Eastern Canadian Championships, losing in three straight sets to Lorne Main.

1954

Bédard reached the final of the Hollywood Beach Invitational, losing in three straight sets to Gardnar Mulloy. He later reached the final of the 1954 Stuttgart Open, losing to Gottfried von Cramm. He was a quarterfinalist at the 1954 Italian Open, winning a five-set marathon over

despite losing the first two sets, and later losing to defending champion

Jaroslav Drobny Jaroslav (also written as Yaroslav or Jarosław in other Slavic languages) is a Czech and Slovak first name, pagan in origin. There are several possible origins of the name Jaroslav. It is very likely that originally the two elements of the nam ...

. The No. 1 seed for the 1954 French Open,

Lew Hoad Lewis Alan Hoad (23 November 1934 – 3 July 1994) was an Australian tennis player whose career ran from 1950 to 1973. Hoad won four Major singles tournaments as an amateur (the Australian Championships, French Championships and two Wimbledon ...

, defeated Bédard in the third round at Roland Garros in three close sets. A month later, Bédard won his first match at Wimbledon, a close four set victory over Gordon Forbes, and also won his second round match.

Fred Perry Frederick John Perry (18 May 1909 – 2 February 1995) was a British tennis and table tennis player and former world No. 1 from England who won 10 Majors including eight Grand Slam tournaments and two Pro Slams single titles, as well ...

, who covered Wimbledon for BBC, stated that Bedard was the most complete athlete in the tournament and noted his competitive zeal in matches. Hoad, the Wimbledon No. 2 seed, eliminated Bédard in the third round in four sets, Bédard winning the third set from Hoad. Bédard reached the final of the Quebec Open championships, where he lost a long four-set match to Lorne Main, who had won the Monte Carlo and Belgian titles that season on red clay in Europe.

1955

In European play, Bédard won a close five set match against Orlando Sirola in the second round of the Italian Championships. Bédard reached the semifinal at Cannes, defeating Jacques Brichant, but lost to Wladyslaw Skonecki. He won a close match against

in the Queen's Club Championships, but lost in the third round to Hoad. At the

1955 Wimbledon Championships The 1955 Wimbledon Championships took place on the outdoor grass courts at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club in Wimbledon, London, United Kingdom. The tournament was held from Monday 20 June until Saturday 2 July 1955. It was the 69th ...

, Bedard lost in the first round to

Herb Flam Herbert Flam (November 7, 1928 – November 25, 1980) was an American tennis player who in 1957 was ranked by Lance Tingay as the World No. 4 amateur (and World No. 5 by Adrian Quist).

. In 1955, Bédard won his first Canadian Open championship at Quebec City in August on clay. Bédard defeated Don Fontana in the semifinal and Henri Rochon in the final. Rochon had eliminated Lorne Main in the other semifinal. Bédard won the Nova Scotia Championships for 1955. Bédard also beat Rochon in the final of the Quebec championships in July. He reached the third round at Forest Hills in 1955 for the first of an eventual four times, but again it was Hoad that he came up against, this time Hoad winning in three straight sets.

1956

In July Bédard won the Quebec Open over Don Fontana in the final. He also won the Ontario Championships in July beating Paul Willey in the final, Willey having a win over Pietrangeli at Florence that season. As defending champion in the 1956 Canadian Open, held in Vancouver on grass, Bédard lost in the semifinals to Noel Brown, who then defeated Don Fontana in the final. Bédard again reached the third round at Forest Hills, this time bowing out to unseeded American Hugh Stewart in four sets. After going out early in the next two U.S. Nationals, he would once again reach the third round in 1959, when he lost to No. 6 seed Luis Ayala. He reached the same round one last time two years later, just shy of his 30th birthday.

1957

Bédard and his wife took a honeymoon tour of Europe in 1957 following their wedding, which would be his finest year with four tournament wins in singles. Bédard won two clay court tournaments in Britain in 1957, including the Sutton Hardcourts title at the Sutton Tennis and Squash Club in Sutton, Surrey, England, defeating future champion Bob Howe in the final in straight sets. Bédard also won the North of England Hardcourts Championships at Southport, England at the Argyle Lawn Tennis Club, defeating future champion Alan Mills in the final in straight sets. In the Kent Championships at Beckenham on grass, Bédard defeated Roy Emerson, but lost in the next round to Ramanathan Krishnan. At Wimbledon, Bédard and his wife entered the mixed doubles, losing in the first round. Bédard defeated Torben Ulrich in the first round at Wimbledon in singles but lost his next match to Jacques Brichant. Bédard won the Nova Scotia Championships in mens singles for 1957, and also won the mixed doubles title with his wife. Bédard played in the O'Keefe International at the Toronto Lawn Tennis Club on red clay in Toronto. He won three rounds and defeated

and Armando Vieira, but lost the semifinal to Sven Davidson, world No. 2 and the French Open champion for that year on red clay. Davidson defeated Budge Patty in the final. Bédard won the Canadian Open for the second time at Montreal's Monkland Tennis Club on clay, the same venue where Santana would win the Canadian Open title over Emerson ten years later. He defeated in turn Straight Clark, winner of the Cincinnati Masters Clay Court in 1954, Armando Vieira, the 1956 Dixieland champion, and Ramanathan Krishnan in a superb four-set final. Krishnan had beaten Bédard several times earlier that year in Britain, and would win the Canadian Open in 1968. Bédard had lost to Vieira in the 1957 Quebec Open championships in a long semifinal match. Bédard also won the 1957 Canadian Open doubles title partnered by his Davis Cup teammate Don Fontana.

1958

Bédard successfully defended his Canadian Open title in 1958 in Vancouver on grass, defeating eventual American No. 1 Whitney Reed in the final in three straight sets. Bédard had earlier in the season lost to Reed on clay in Toronto in Davis Cup play. Reed would later win two Canadian Open singles titles. Bédard won the Adirondack Invitation tournament at Schroon Lake, New York, defeating his fellow Canadian Davis Cup teammate Lorne Main in the final. At the O'Keefe International at the Toronto Lawn Tennis Club on red clay in Toronto, Bédard defeated Ulf Schmidt and

, winner of the U.S. National Indoor title that year, before losing to Luis Ayala in the semifinal. In August, Bédard won the Quebec Open title beating Val Harit in the final in five sets.

1959

Bédard won the silver medal at the

1959 Pan American Games The 1959 Pan American Games were held in Chicago, Illinois, United States between August 28 and September 7, 1959. Host city selection One city initially submitted a bid to host the 1959 Pan American Games that was recognized by the Pan Am ...

in Chicago. In the latter event he defeated Mexican Francisco Contreras in the semi-finals but lost the final to Chilean Luis Ayala, thus capturing the silver medal. Bédard also won the 1959 Adirondack Invitation at Schroon Lake, New York defeating American Sidney Schwartz, twice winner of the Eastern Clay Court title, in the final. Bédard won the Quebec Open in August, beating Cuban Reynaldo Garrido in a five set semifinal and

Eduardo Zuleta Eduardo Zuleta (born 19 November 1935)Eduardo Zuleta
at Orlando Garrido in the final.

1960

In 1960, Bédard won the U.S. Eastern Clay Court Championships at Hackensack, New Jersey in his only appearance at the event. He defeated Eugene Scott, a later quarterfinalist at Roland Garros, in the final in a marathon five set match after trailing two sets to one. Bédard defeated Mike Sangster in the third round of the Canadian Open. He lost a long five-set semifinal to the eventual tournament winner, Ladislav (Laci) Legenstein. Bédard beat François Godbout, the Quebec Indoor champion that year, in the final of the Quebec Open in July in three straight sets. Bédard "used his experience as a Davis Cup veteran to thwart any attempted rally by his opponent in the men's Singles. His fast, all-court-game stumped Godbout..." Bédard won the Oakville Invitational at Oakville, Ontario.

1961

Bédard reached the semifinal of the Canadian Open where he led Whitney Reed two sets to one, but lost in a marathon five sets. Reed won the final over Mike Sangster. Bédard also won the Ontario Championships in August against John Swann. Bédard won the Oakville Invitational at Oakville, Ontario.

1962

Bédard won the Oakville Invitational at Oakville, Ontario defeating Paul Cranis in the final in three straight sets. He also won the Verdun Invitational at Woodland Park Tennis Club beating Val Harit in the final.

1963

Bédard again reached the semifinal of the Canadian Open where he lost to Whitney Reed in four sets, Reed again winning the tournament.

1964

Bédard won the Oakville Invitational in June over George Sokol, winner of the Eastern Clay Court and the Middle States Clay Court, in the final in three straight sets. Bédard lost in the final of the Quebec Open in August to Ronald Holmberg. "The fair-haired Texan steadily outplayed Bédard over the clay courts of the Civil Employees' Tennis Club".

1965

In June, Bédard beat Francois Godbout in the final of the Oakville Invitational tournament. In August, Bédard won the Quebec Open Championships on clay at the Montreal Monklands Tennis Club in dramatic fashion, the same clay court venue where he had won the 1957 Canadian Open. Bédard defeated Billy Lenoir in the semifinal in five sets after Lenoir, the Cincinnati Masters Clay Court champion that year, had a two sets to love lead over Bédard, when many in the crowd then left the stadium. Bédard stated that at that point "I realized what I was doing wrong with my serve and my forehand, and all of a sudden it came back."Montreal Gazette, 2 August 1965. https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=Fr8DH2VBP9sC&dat=19650802&printsec=frontpage&hl=en He then faced defending champion Ronald Holmberg, an outstanding clay player, in the final. Bédard lost the first two games of the match to Holmberg, but then won the next eight games. Late in the second set, Bedard sprained his ankle and then trailed 5 to 2 in the third set. However, he rallied and won the last three games to win the set at 8 to 6, and the match. Bédard stated, "I don't think that olmbergwas prepared for the game I was ready to give him." The following day at the Quebec City International round robin, still recovering from his sprained ankle, Bédard defeated Pierre Darmon after trailing 5 to 3 in the deciding set, winning at 10 to 8, after Darmon had twice served for the match. Darmon would eventually win the tournament. Bédard won his final match of the event over Bobby Wilson. Bédard lost to Lester Sack in three straight sets at the Canadian Open, but returned the favour by beating Sack in three straight sets at the U.S. Open in the first round. Bédard was ranked the No. 1 Canadian player for the 10th and final time in 1965.

1966

Bédard came from 5-3 down in the final set to beat Francois Godbout in the final of the Dow Invitational at La Boheme Tennis Club in June. The following week he successfully defended his Oakville Invitational title, again defeating Godbout in the final. He lost to Mike Belkin in the final of the Quebec Open in July. "Bédard started strongly but the toil of the three-and-a-half hour final began to show in the final set when cramps completely immobilized him".

1967

Bédard announced his retirement in August, having played only a limited schedule in the previous few years, usually consisting of just a few Canadian events in the summer months each year.

1969

Bédard won the Gold Medal in men's singles tennis in the 1969 Canada Games in Halifax. He defeated Don McCormick, a later Canadian No. 1 ranked player, in the Gold Medal match.

Professional

1970

In 1970, Bédard claimed he was still retired and only entered a few events because they "fell during his holidays". He won the Quebec Open Championships, which included wins over Jim Boyce, a later Canadian National men's singles champion (closed) and Canadian No. 1, and winner of the Western Ontario Open that season, Bailey Brown, winner of multiple U.S. clay titles, and Australian

Ken Binns Kenneth Keith Binns is a former hardball squash player as well as tennis player Tennis is a racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent ( singles) or between two teams of two players each ( doubles). Each pla ...

, winner of multiple Australian tennis and squash titles, in the final. Bédard was awarded the first prize money for the event. This was a record seventh Quebec Open title for Bédard.

Seniors/veterans tennis

Bédard has remained active playing in senior's tennis over the years, in particular doubles with his sons. Bédard won the Canadian National outdoor singles championship in 2006 for Age 70 players, defeating Crichton Wilson in the final. Bédard won the Canadian National outdoor singles championship for the 80-and-over category in 2015. His former Davis Cup team-mate, Lorne Main, won the 85-and-over category. In 2015, Bédard participated with another Pan American Games medalist in a doubles match at a museum house which contained early tennis equipment.

Ranking

Bédard was considered among the top ten clay court players in the world. Bédard was the top-ranked Canadian player in singles in 10 years from the mid 1950s to the mid 1960s. During this time he lost only once to a fellow Canadian in competition, to Reider Getz of Vancouver at the Verdun invitational in July 1964. Bédard was ranked no lower than third in Canada between 1952 and 1970. He was first ranked No. 1 in

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...

in 1953.

Davis Cup

Bédard was a

Davis Cup member from 1953 to 1961, and again in 1967, and had a career win–loss record of 11 and 22, 8 and 15 in singles and 3 and 7 in doubles. Bédard lost all three of the Davis Cup rubbers he contested in

1953 Events January * January 6 – The Asian Socialist Conference opens in Rangoon, Burma. * January 12 – Estonian émigrés found a government-in-exile in Oslo. * January 14 ** Marshal Josip Broz Tito is chosen President of Yug ...

. Despite this Canada did go on to face the

Americans Americans are the citizens and nationals of the United States of America.; ; Although direct citizens and nationals make up the majority of Americans, many dual citizens, expatriates, and permanent residents could also legally claim Ame ...

in the final of the America Group, played in Canada. Bédard and his partner Henri Rochon lost the doubles match in their quarter-final tie against

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

, played at the Mount Royal Tennis Club; fortunately, Lorne Main won both of his singles rubbers, including the Round 4 match over Mario Llamas, which gave Canada an insurmountable 3–1 lead. (It was the last time Canada beat Mexico until 2001.) In the next round, also played at Mount Royal, Canada won the first three rubbers to seal victory against

Cuba Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...

. He played his first singles match, losing the Round 5 dead rubber to Orlando Garrido in four sets. The American Group final was played at the Mount Royal Tennis Club in Montreal on grass, chosen by the Canadian Davis Cup Association, despite the fact that the Canadian players (Rochon, Main, and Bédard) were all specialists on clay, and the American team won 5-0. Bédard's match was a singles dead rubber four-set loss, this time to American Tut Bartzen. In 1954, Canada opened with a tight tie win over

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...

3–2, again in Montreal. After Main came back from 2 sets to 1 down in Round 1, Bédard got his first Cup singles win, in straight sets over Ricardo Balbiers. Main and Paul Willey next lost in straight sets to Andres Hammersley and Chilean star Luis Ayala. Main came through to seal victory with hard fought marathon win over Hammersley in five sets. Bédard lost the fifth match dead rubber to Ayala. Canada lost to Mexico 4-1 in Mexico City. Canada began 1955 Cup play with an expected comfortable opening win over the West Indies. Bédard defeated Trinidadian Ian McDonald in four sets in the first match and teamed with Don Fontana to win the doubles rubber in straight sets, as Canada won 5–0. Canada next faced 1954 runner-up and eventual 1955 champion Australia in the America Group final. The tie was chosen by the Canadian Davis Cup Association to be played in Montreal at the Mount Royal Tennis Club, on grass, despite the fact that both Bédard and Main were outstanding on clay. Bédard had the unenviable task of opening proceedings against World No. 2 (amateur)

Ken Rosewall Kenneth Robert Rosewall (born 2 November 1934) is an Australian former world top-ranking amateur and professional tennis player. He won a record 23 Majors in singles, including eight Grand Slam singles titles and, before the Open Era, a record ...

, and lost the match in four sets, Lorne Main lost to Hartwig. Bédard and Fontana lost the doubles rubber in four sets as well, Fontana lost a dead rubber to Hoad in singles. Bédard's won sets were the only two sets during the tie that Canada won. The following year Canada again opened with a win over the West Indies, this time in Port of Spain and dropping only one set. This set up an encounter with the United States in

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

. Fontana was soundly defeated by Ham Richardson to open the tie. In the second match, Bédard won the first set against

Herb Flam Herbert Flam (November 7, 1928 – November 25, 1980) was an American tennis player who in 1957 was ranked by Lance Tingay as the World No. 4 amateur (and World No. 5 by Adrian Quist).

, 6–2, before succumbing to his more accomplished opponent. The two Canadians then came back from dropping the first set to go up two sets to one against Ron Holmberg and Barry MacKay in the doubles, only to lose the last two sets, and with it the tie. Bédard lost a dead rubber to Richardson in straight sets and Paul Willey gave the Canadians some consolation in winning the fifth match over MacKay. In

1957 1957 ( MCMLVII) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar, the 1957th year of the Common Era (CE) and ''Anno Domini'' (AD) designations, the 957th year of the 2nd millennium, the 57th year of the 20th century, and the 8th year ...

, Canada played just one Cup tie, losing 2–3 to

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

in Montreal. Bédard played the opening match and twice came from a set down against Carlos-Alberto Fernandes only to lose the close fifth set. Fontana squared matters in winning the second match over Armando Vieira, also in five sets. In the crucial doubles rubber, Fernandes and Viera proved too good, winning in four. Fontana then went down in straight sets in the fourth match. Canada started the

1958 Events January * January 1 – The European Economic Community (EEC) comes into being. * January 3 – The West Indies Federation is formed. * January 4 ** Edmund Hillary's Commonwealth Trans-Antarctic Expedition completes the third ...

campaign superbly, playing at home on clay in Toronto, sweeping aside Cuba without conceding more than 4 games in any set. At the same venue, the Toronto CS & C Club on clay, they next faced the Americans. Canada managed to win just two sets. Fontana was soundly beat by MacKay, one, two, and five. Bédard played Whitney Reed closer but also went down in straight sets. He and Fontana then lost the doubles in straight sets as well. The U.S. went on to retake the Cup in the finals from holders Australia. The following year after an opening round bye, Canada faced Australia in Montreal in the group final. The Canadian Davis Cup Association selected a grass surface to host the tie, although Bédard was a clay specialist. The Australians fielded a team featuring three future icons:

, Rod Laver, and

Neale Fraser Neale Andrew Fraser (born 3 October 1933) is a former number one amateur male tennis-player from Australia, born in Melbourne, Victoria, the son of a Victorian judge. Fraser is the last man to have completed the triple crown, i.e. having won ...

. Canada won only two sets in two dead rubbers. Fontana lost the first singles match against Emerson. Next Bédard lost to Laver. Australia then won the tie by taking the doubles rubber, with Emerson and Fraser defeating Fontana and Bédard. In consolation, Bédard and François Godbout took the first sets off of Emerson and Laver in matches 4 and 5 respectively. Canada played just one tie in

1960 It is also known as the "Year of Africa" because of major events—particularly the independence of seventeen African nations—that focused global attention on the continent and intensified feelings of Pan-Africanism. Events January * Jan ...

, an opening round loss, once more to the United States by a score 0 matches to 5 score. On clay in

Quebec City Quebec City ( or ; french: Ville de Québec), officially Québec (), is the capital city of the Canadian province of Quebec. As of July 2021, the city had a population of 549,459, and the metropolitan area had a population of 839,311. It is t ...

this time, Bédard started well, winning the first two sets against Tut Bartzen. Fontana took only 6 games off of Barry MacKay in the second match. The two Canucks made a stand in the first set of the doubles taking it to 12 games all before succumbing and losing the next two sets handily. Bédard won Canada's third set of the tie in the fourth match. In

1961 Events January * January 3 ** United States President Dwight D. Eisenhower announces that the United States has severed diplomatic and consular relations with Cuba (Cuba–United States relations are restored in 2015). ** Aero Flight 311 (K ...

, Canada once more lost in the first round of Cup competition – they would not win a Cup tie again in fact until 1966. The tie was held at Civil Employees Tennis Club, Quebec City on clay, and Bédard was certainly not at fault for the loss to Mexico as he won the opening rubber over Mario Llamas – as well as his second singles match, a dead rubber, over Rafael Osuna in four sets. François Godbout did not fare as well, losing both of his singles matches. The two Quebeckers played a very close doubles match but came up just short in what would prove to be the decisive encounter. After six years absent from play, Bédard returned for a

1967 Events January * January 1 – Canada begins a year-long celebration of the 100th anniversary of Confederation, featuring the Expo 67 World's Fair. * January 5 ** Spain and Romania sign an agreement in Paris, establishing full consular and ...

tie versus

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It i ...

, played in Bournemouth on shale. (From 1966 through 1969 Canada competed in the Europe Group.) Young Canadian star Mike Belkin got proceedings off well for the visitors defeating Mike Sangster in four sets. In the second match Bédard twice won a set to level before losing to Roger Taylor in the fifth 5–7. Belkin and

Keith Carpenter Keith Richards, Keith A. Carpenter (born August 3, 1941) was one of Canada's top men's tennis players during the 1960s. Tennis career Overview Carpenter's best result was winning the Canadian Open Men's Doubles Championship in 1966 alongside hi ...

then battled Taylor and Bobby Wilson to a 12–10 fifth set, which they lost. With victory at hand for the Brits in the fourth match Belkin started very strongly against Taylor, winning the first two sets by a 6–2 score. The home player however came back to win the final three sets of a close match. Bédard then lost the fifth match dead rubber to Sangster.

Playing style and assessment

Bédard was a natural, muscular multi-sport athlete, whose excellence in baseball and ice hockey led to contract offers from professional teams, including the New York Rangers ice hockey team and the Cleveland Indians baseball team. Fred Perry stated that Bedard was the most complete athlete in the 1954 Wimbledon tournament and noted his competitive zeal in matches. He received only one season of tennis coaching, at UCLA. His academic career left little time for tennis practice, most of which was with his wife and children at his home backyard courts. His wife and sons were excellent players. His playing style was described by Lucien Laverdure, a racket ace also inducted into the Quebec Sports Hall of Fame in 1991, in his book "Tennis Mon Obsession", published around 1965: " édard'sdominant qualities of determination, patience, strength, control, combined with an extraordinary sense of anticipation led him straight to the goal he had set for himself and far beyond”. Laverdure later remarked in a 2012 assessment, "One of Bédard's competitors, Don Fontana, stated that his physical conditioning was most remarkable: he spoke of rare speed (Bédard ran the 100 meters in 10.3 seconds!), and of superb eye-hand co-ordination, and of intense concentration. It is through perseverance and motivation that Robert Bédard will succeed in triumphing in tennis: he will never have enough time to perfect his technique and bring it up to the level of European or American players who were training at the year long. A bit like Rafael Nadal, Bédard excelled more on clay and exhausted his opponents: I am not comparing his level of play here to that of the Spaniard but rather trying to highlight his qualities as a player." Laverdure further referenced that "Raymond Summers, a Toronto journalist wrote (1956) that it would have been better for édardto spend a few seasons working on his shots than to engage in international competitions, referring to a lack of technique to deal with this elite level. He will add that Bédard had to compensate with exhausting work combined with great determination and enormous perseverance to achieve his goals. In short, we can conclude that Robert Bédard played instinctively and that he was above all motivated by his desire to win; if he had had the chance to perfect his basic skills, he could have performed at another level and who knows, reached heights that Canadian players still dream of. It must be admitted all the same that it shows the psychological nature of ischaracter in addition to illustrating what type of man he was in life, outside of sports practice."

Tennis executive

Bédard served as the president of Tennis Quebec from 1967 to 1970 and the vice-president of

Tennis Canada Tennis Canada is the national governing body of tennis within Canada. It works together with the provincial associations to organize tournaments and rules. They also oversee the Canada Davis Cup team and the Canada Fed Cup team. Tennis Canada ...

from 1973 to 1977.

Honours

Bédard was awarded the Queen's Jubilee Prize in 1977. He was inducted into the Canadian Tennis Hall of Fame and Quebec Sports Hall of Fame in 1991. He was inducted into Canada's Sports Hall of Fame in 1996. He was inducted into the

Aurora An aurora (plural: auroras or aurorae), also commonly known as the polar lights, is a natural light display in Earth's sky, predominantly seen in high-latitude regions (around the Arctic and Antarctic). Auroras display dynamic patterns of bri ...

Sports Hall of Fame in 2013 as an inaugural inductee. The St. Andrew's College Bédard Athletic Centre is named after him.

Commentating

Bédard was a tennis colour commentator for coverage of a round robin tournament held in Canada in 1967 and again in 1968, that featured four of the world's top amateur players. Coverage was broadcast on CBC Television. He was joined in the booth by play-by-play announcer Bob McDevitt.

Outside of tennis/personal

An amateur tennis player in the days before Open tennis, Bédard has been a long-time educator, first as a French and geography school teacher at

Bishop's College School Bishop's College School or BCS is an English-language non-profit independent boarding prep school in Sherbrooke, Quebec, Canada for students in Grades 7 to 12.Thomson, Ashley; Lafortune, Sylvie (1999). Handbook of Canadian Boarding Schools. To ...

Sherbrooke, Quebec Sherbrooke ( ; ) is a city in southern Quebec, Canada. It is at the confluence of the Saint-François and Magog rivers in the heart of the Estrie administrative region. Sherbrooke is also the name of a territory equivalent to a regional count ...

and as longtime headmaster for 16 years at St. Andrew's College in

Aurora, Ontario Aurora ( 2021 population: 62,057) is a town in central York Region in the Greater Toronto Area, within the Golden Horseshoe of Southern Ontario, Canada. It is located north of the City of Richmond Hill and is partially situated on the Oak Ridg ...

where he and his wife Anne still live.

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Bédard, Robert 1931 births Living people Canadian colour commentators Canadian expatriate sportspeople in the United States Canadian male tennis players French Quebecers Pan American Games silver medalists for Canada Sportspeople from Aurora, Ontario Sportspeople from Saint-Hyacinthe Racket sportspeople from Quebec Tennis commentators Tennis players at the 1959 Pan American Games UCLA Bruins men's tennis players Pan American Games medalists in tennis Bishop's College School Faculty Tennis players at the 1967 Pan American Games Medalists at the 1959 Pan American Games