Brisebois: Year-end quiz – Part 1

We all agree: 2021 ended much too early for Rafa and Roger—who’ve been out since Roland-Garros and Wimbledon, respectively—and for Ashleigh Barty and Naomi Osaka—who stepped off the ride in New York. With all the cancelling and rescheduling, this year was complicated. And let’s not forget all the COVID-19 measures.

Just ask Eugène Lapierre or anyone on his team, who had to wait until July 26 to get the greenlight from public health authorities to host the National Bank Open at IGA Stadium just two weeks later with only 5,000 people in the stands!

But the good news—the great news, actually—is that, despite everything, there was tennis.

And there were other sports, too.

The NFL, MLB and NBA all essentially happened in the US (except for the Blue Jays and Raptors, of course). The NHL is North American.

The difference is that the WTA and ATP organize tournaments in 34 countries on seven continents, and that tends to make things a bit more complex.

Now that it’s all said and done, there’s no doubt that Novak Djokovic had a fantastic year with three Slams and his seventh year-end No.1. 

QUIZ ROUND 1

Over the coming weeks, tennis writers will be putting the finishing touches on their reviews of the season, and it’s a safe bet that two of our very own will at least get a mention.

With her game and charm, Leylah Fernandez took a huge bite out of the Big Apple.

And Félix Auger-Aliassime just kept getting better and better. He started out the year with a fourth-round appearance in Melbourne and thne made it to the quarterfinals of Wimbledon and semifinals of the US Open.

We can’t wait to see what 2022 has in store.

What surprise win did Canada manage to pull off without Bianca Andreescu? Who won Olympic gold? Who won the most matches? The most titles?

You’ll find the answers to those questions and more in this first part of our 2021 Changeover quiz to say goodbye to the past season.

Rack up seven points and you win the set.

1: LET’S EASE INTO THINGS. IN 2021, NOVAK DJOKOVIC WAS ONE MATCH AWAY FROM A CALENDAR GRAND SLAM. WHERE DID HE SLIP UP?

A: Roland-Garros

B: Wimbledon

C: US Open

2: WHO LEFT TOKYO AS THE NEWLY-CROWNED OLYMPIC CHAMPIONS IN SINGLES TENNIS? 

A: Belinda Bencic and Alexander Zverev

B: Naomi Osaka and Stefanos Tsitsipas 

C: Aryna Sabalenka and Daniil Medvedev 

3: TRUE OR FALSE?

Leylah Fernandez’s career earnings totalled US$786,772 before she pocketed $1.25M from the US Open final.  

4: AT WHAT TEAM TENNIS EVENT DID CANADA DEFEAT REIGNING CHAMPION FRANCE?  

A: Davis Cup 

B: Billie Jean King Cup

C: Laver Cup 

5: WHICH OF THE FOLLOWING AFFIRMATIONS ABOUT FÉLIX AUGER-ALIASSIME  ARE TRUE?

A: With Melbourne and Stuttgart in 2021, Félix has competed in eight ATP finals and is still waiting on his first ATP title.

B: He entered the Top 10 for the very first time in his young career on November 15.

C: He started out the season at No.21.

6: HOW MANY CONSECUTIVE SEASONS DID ASHLEIGH BARTY CLOSE OUT AT WORLD NO.1?

A: 2 

B: 3 

C: 4 

7: WHO WON THE MOST ATP MATCHES (59) AND TITLES (6) THIS SEASON?  

A: Alexander Zverev

B: Novak Djokovic

C: Daniil Medvedev

8: NAME THE CANADIAN ACE WHO ENDED THE YEAR IN THE DOUBLES TOP  10 AS NO.7?  

A: Gabriela Dabrowski 

B: Denis Shapovalov

C: Vasek Pospisil 

9: WHAT VERY IMPORTANT HEALTH MEASURE DID THE AUSTRALIAN OPEN IMPLEMENT AT THE END OF THE SEASON?

A: Mandatory quarantine for everyone

B: Mandatory full vaccination for everyone

C: Open door policy for everyone

CHECK YOUR ANSWERS!

1: C

2: A

3: TRUE

4: B

5: A, B, C

6: B

7: A

8: A 

9: B