The defence of a Wimbledon title would normally be top priority for any tennis player. Yet for 25-year-old Canadian Vasek Pospisil it is the the second most important thing on his mind.
For Pospisil, returning to SW19 as gentlemen’s doubles champion, with American Jack Sock, comes second behind staying in the singles draw, and Fabio Fognini stands between him and a place in the third round.
The same priorities would be true for Sock, but his hopes came to an abrupt end on Tuesday when he lost in four sets to Sam Groth.
Far from getting tense about any added pressure or expectations, Pospisil cuts a remarkably relaxed figure when discussing the hopes he and Sock have for The Championships.
The pair are taking each match as it comes, and there’s good reason for their realistic outlook their doubles preparation has been non-existent.
“We still don’t do any doubles practice or anything like that,” says Pospisil. “We are prioritising singles and putting all our energy into that. The doubles is something we’re doing on the side. When it’s time to play a doubles match we just go and play, and we’re quite relaxed.”
I started playing the guitar last year and travel with it everywhere
While neither of them wants to detract from their singles focus, Pospisil acknowledges the disadvantage of not training together. “We’re not grooving in any doubles skills or plays,” he says.
“Any time you concentrate more on something you’re naturally going to improve more and do better. So I think if we were focused on doubles, which we’re not, we’d probably be playing better than we are now.”
The lack of practice did not hinder their chances last year, when they were playing only their first tournament together and barely knew one another. Their relaxed approach should not be mistaken for a lack of drive, however, and they needed a strong will-to-win to get through their tough first-round match this week against Groth and Sergiy Stakhovsky.
“Every time we step on the court we want to win, we’re still competitors and it always feels good to win. We’ll do our best and hopefully have a good run.
“We had a slow start in our first round and that could have been related to being defending champions. It took us maybe a set to get in the groove, but then we reset, calmed down and refocused.”
With that tough match behind them, the pair face Eric Butorac and Colin Fleming in the second round.
However, Pospisil’s priority is his second-round singles match on Thursday against Fognini, the No.30 seed.
“It’s going to be a tough match for sure,” he says.“He’s a talented player and good on all surfaces, but it’s definitely better to play him on grass. I’ll take it to him and play aggressively.
“If I can serve well and put him under pressure a little bit on his service games then I think I have a good shot of winning.”
Beating Fognini would take him into uncharted territory of the third round at Wimbledon. To stay calm Pospisil will be spending any free time playing his guitar and singing, something he recently took up.
“My brothers are musicians and my dad had a band when he was younger, so I just kind of felt left out that I was the only one that couldn’t play an instrument,” he said. “I started playing the guitar last year, and travel with it everywhere. Whenever I have any time to kill I’ll start playing something.”
All Pospisil’s efforts over the last few days have been geared towards reaching the third round. If Sock gets there too, it will be a welcome bonus.
