Auger-Aliassime looking to continue meteoric climb at Wimbledon

In the next two weeks, Canada's Felix Auger-Aliassime could vault himself into the conversation for not only the best Canadian tennis player, but possibly a future contender for best in the world.

The 18-year-old from Montreal is one of five Canadians in the singles main draw at Wimbledon, the biggest event on the tennis calendar, beginning July 1.

Auger-Aliassime has skyrocketed up the world rankings this year to a career-best No. 21, having started 2019 ranked No. 108 in the world. He has been a force of late, making two ATP finals in his past three tournaments.

He's won 10 of his last 13 matches, dating back to the Lyon Open in May. Seven of those wins have come on grass, which bodes well for Wimbledon.

At his most recent tournament, the Queen's Club, he defeated Australia's Nick Kyrgios before beating top-seeded Stefanos Tsitsipas of Greece in the quarter-finals. After the match, Tsitsipas called Auger-Aliassime "the most difficult opponent I've ever faced … I have to accept that he's better than me."

That's high praise from the 20-year-old Tsitsipas, who is seeded seventh at Wimbledon. Auger-Aliassime is seeded 19th.

The Montreal native begins his Wimbledon journey on Monday, matched up against fellow Canadian Vasek Pospisil.

Aside from Auger-Aliassime, Canadian tennis fans will have no shortage of athletes to cheer for.

The rest of the Canadian field

Milos Raonic (15th seed) — The Thornhill, Ont. native has reached at least the quarter-finals in three of his past four tournaments, including the semis at Stuttgart and Indian Wells. In his most recent match he fell to wild-card entry Feliciano Lopez in the quarters at the Queen's Club. However, the last time he beat a higher-seeded opponent was at the Australian Open in January when the 16th-seed Raonic defeated 4th-seeded Alexander Zverev in the round of 16.

First Wimbledon match: July 1, Raonic vs. Prajnesh Gunneswaran

Denis Shapovalov (29th seed) — The past few tournaments have been rough for the 20-year-old, losing his last four matches (three to unseeded opponents). After being upset in the first round of the French Open, Shapovalov said, "It's just not clicking."

First Wimbledon match: July 2, Shapovalov vs. Ricardas Berankis

Vasek Pospisil (Unseeded) — Pospisil hasn't played a match since October as he recovered from surgery to repair a herniated disc in his back. Although his world ranking slipped to 188th during his time off, the injury allowed him to retain his protected ranking of No. 73.

First Wimbledon match: July 1, Pospisil vs. Auger-Aliassime

Eugenie Bouchard (Unseeded) — Due to rising star Bianca Andreescu's withdrawal with an on-going shoulder injury, Bouchard is the only Canadian female to make the main draw. She limps into the All England club having lost five straight matches. Her last win was on Feb. 18 over Belarus' Vera Lapko in the first round of the Dubai Open.

First Wimbledon match: July 2, Bouchard vs. Tamara Zidansek