Michael Downey: Why has the LTA opted for the Canadian?

He is a marketeer by trade, and now has the job of selling tennis to those who see it as no more than an armchair sport.

He led the expat life in Jakarta for a few years, before returning home to work first for the Toronto Raptors NBA team, and then for the Maple Leafs NHL team. Canada’s largest brewery was then added to his CV before he was asked to run Canadian tennis.

According to David Gregson, he ticks all the boxes. Nearly 30 of the 350 applicants for the post were interviewed, but “what made Michael stand out is that he has top-level business experience, he has run a sport, and of course knows tennis backwards, so he was the unanimous choice”.

Canadian tennis has certainly had a good few years. Milos Raonic made his debut in the world’s top 10 in August, 19-year-old Eugenie Bouchard is now ranked inside the top 50, and Canada reached the semi-finals of this year’s Davis Cup.

And perhaps more significantly, participation levels have been increasing: over 1.2 of 35 million people play tennis at least twice a month in season.