Robert Bédard, Canadian tennis player and sportscaster
Robert Bédard (born 13 September 1931) is a Canadian former tennis player and educator. Bédard was ranked among the top ten clay court players in the world and was the top-ranked Canadian singles player in ten years in the 1950s and early 1960s. Bédard won three Canadian Open singles titles in 1955 (over Henri Rochon in the final), 1957 (over Ramanathan Krishnan in the final) and 1958 (over Whitney Reed in the final). Bédard won a record seven Quebec Open singles championships and three Ontario Open singles titles. He won the U.S. Eastern Clay Court Championships in 1960. His career titles won was 26 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. 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 ice hockey team and the Cleveland Indians baseball team, which he declined in favour of a career in academia. He became the principal of an esteemed private preparatory collegiate.