Rafael Nadal, Bédard excelled more on clay and exhausted his opponents: I am not comparing his level of play here to that of the Spaniard but rather trying to highlight his qualities as a player." Laverdure further referenced that "Raymond Summers, a Toronto journalist wrote (1956) that it would have been better for [Bédard] to spend a few seasons working on his shots than to engage in international competitions, referring to a lack of technique to deal with this elite level. He will add that Bédard had to compensate with exhausting work combined with great determination and enormous perseverance to achieve his goals. In short, we can conclude that Robert Bédard played instinctively and that he was above all motivated by his desire to win; if he had had the chance to perfect his basic skills, he could have performed at another level and who knows, reached heights that Canadian players still dream of. It must be admitted all the same that it shows the psychological nature of [his] character in addition to illustrating what type of man he was in life, outside of sports practice." Tennis executive Bédard served as the president of Tennis Quebec from 1967 to 1970 and the vice-president of Tennis Canada from 1973 to 1977. Honours Bédard was awarded the Queen's Jubilee Prize in 1977. He was inducted into the Canadian Tennis Hall of Fame and Quebec Sports Hall of Fame in 1991. He was inducted into Canada's Sports Hall of Fame in 1996. He was inducted into the Aurora Sports Hall of Fame in 2013 as an inaugural inductee. Commentating Bédard was a tennis colour commentator for coverage of a round robin tournament held in Canada in 1967 and again in 1968, that featured four of the world's top amateur players. Coverage was broadcast on CBC Television. He was joined in the booth by play-by-play announcer Bob McDevitt. Outside of tennis/personal An amateur tennis player in the days before Open tennis, Bédard has been a long-time educator, first as a French and geography school teacher at Bishop's College School in Sherbrooke, Quebec and as longtime headmaster for 16 years at St. Andrew's College in Aurora, Ontario where he and his wife Anne still live. The St. Andrew's College Bédard Athletic Centre is named after him. See also List of Bishop's College School alumni St. Andrew's College, Aurora References External links 1931 births Living people