In this file photo, Canadian tennis player Frederic Niemeyer speaks at a press conference in Montreal, Thursday, Nov., 19, 2009 announcing his retirement from tennis. Nieymeyer was inducted into the Rogers Cup Hall of Fame in a ceremony in Montreal on Monday.Graham Hughes/The Canadian Press
Stephane Bonneau and Frederic Niemeyer are among a quartet of Quebec tennis players who were inducted into the Rogers Cup Hall of Fame on Monday night.
Sebastien Leblanc and Simon Larose were also honoured on the Uniprix Stadium court prior to the evening's first-round matches.
Tennis legends Billie Jean King and Pete Sampras will be inducted in separate ceremonies later this week in Toronto.
"I looked at the names in the Hall of Fame earlier and Ivan Lendl, Jim Courier and Michael Chang, those are big names," Niemeyer said. "Just the fact that we're joining this group is quite a big honour for us."
Bonneau, 51, made it to the third-round of the Canadian Open in 1985. The Chicoutimi, Que. native was ranked 107th in the world in July 1986.
Born in Campbellton, N.B., the 37-year-old Niemeyer grew up in Shebrooke, Que. He singled out his special moment in the tournament as the last match of his career in 2009 against Roger Federer.
"I played in front of a packed house and the atmosphere was incredible," Niemeyer said. "I still have fresh memories of that match. I was also playing very good tennis and I ended up playing a good match against one of the greatest ever in tennis, so that was a great way to go out, and also in front of my fans."
Leblanc, 39, and doubles partner Sebastien Lareau made it to the quarter-finals in 1991. Leblanc's individual highlight came in 1997 when he beat 10th-seed Tim Henman, who was ranked 18th in the world at the time.
The 34-year-old Larose, who was born in Cap-de-la-Madeleine, Que., had a thrilling run in 2003 when he won two matches, including beating former world No. 1 Gustavo Kuerten, before losing to Andre Agassi.