Six Canadians in Wimbledon’s singles draw

Canada originally had three direct entrants in the 2017 Wimbledon singles main draw but that number has doubled over the past two weeks.

Milos Raonic, Eugenie Bouchard and Vasek Pospisil were guaranteed spots in the 128-player fields, but Denis Shapovalov’s impressive showing at the Aegon Championships at the Queen’s Club in London two weeks ago earned him a main-draw wild card, and then Bianca Andreescu and Francoise Abanda won their way through three qualifying rounds that finished Friday.

It will be a first grand slam singles event for the 18-year-old Shapovalov from Richmond Hill, Ont., and for 17-year-old Andreescu, from Mississauga, Ont.

No. 61-ranked Bouchard plays 25th seed Carla Suarez Navarro. Of concern is the right ankle injury that limited her at the recent French Open.

“It’s good enough that it’s not something I think about when I play,” said Bouchard, who was winless at two pre-Wimbledon grasscourt tournaments. “I’m wearing a brace and I’ll probably be wearing a brace for the rest of the season.”

Bouchard plays Monday, as do Abanda and Shapovalov, with Raonic, Andreescu and Pospisil starting Tuesday. No. 75-ranked Pospisil has the stiffest challenge, facing No. 8 Dominic Thiem. Pospisil reached Wimbledon quarter-finals in 2015.

Raonic, runner-up to Andy Murray a year ago, remains the best bet for success. He has now played six tournaments since early May without injuries.

Raonic recently hired former ATP trainer Michal Novotny to manage his fitness.

“Things are in a much more positive direction. The body’s fine,” he said.

He begins with a first-time meeting versus No. 50-ranked Jan-Lennard Struff.