One year after winning the Vancouver Open, local tennis phenom Vasek Pospisil was in the middle of an historic final on a decidedly larger stage.

The 24-year-old Vancouver native faced fellow Canadian Milos Raonic in the first all-Canadian Citi Open final in ATP tour history in Washington D.C. Sunday.

Though he lost in straight sets, 6-1 and 6-4 to the current world number six, Pospisil said the unprecedented match was inspiring for fans back home.

“It’s motivating for everybody I think in Canada,” Pospisil said following the match.

Vancouver Open tournament director Ryan Clark said Pospisil’s rise since winning the Vancouver tournament has been meteoric.

“It was great to see him win [the Vancouver] tournament, be on our champions wall, and now propel himself right up to the top echelons of the world game,” Clark said.

Pospisil won the men’s doubles champion with American partner Jack Sock at Wimbledon last month and is now ranked in the top thirty in the world.

“When Milos had his breakthrough I felt that I could do it too and I'm improving right now, so that’s the main thing,” Pospisil said.

As his success on the world stage continues, Pospisil’s prize winnings have increased exponentially. For winning the Vancouver Open title in 2013 the prize was $14,400. On Sunday his second place finish netted him $142,000.

Clark said Pospisil’s international success is encouraging not just for tennis fans but for all Canadian athletes.

“Anytime you see Canadians in sport succeed on a world stage it helps people believe to say, “You know what I can go out there. It’s not just people from Europe or people from South America. We’ve seen Canadians succeed on a world stage we can do that.’” Clark said. “It can actually transcend more than just tennis and it can actually bleed into other sports.”

And Pospisil is just getting started – the Citi Open marked his first career singles ATP final.

“This is a start not an ending,” Clark said. “He's not even really mid-career yet so he's got more years to come.”

With a report from CTV Vancouver’s Shannon Paterson