Young gun Milos Raonic seemed destined for greatness ever since stepping onto the big scene in 2011. While Bernand Tomic, Grigor Dimitrov, Ryan Harrison, Jack Sock, or other youngsters are still searching for their big breakthroughs, Raonic's maturity helped him make an immediate impact. He claimed a few ATP titles, and he is already an established presence inside the top 20. However, a dark cloud started threatening his otherwise clear skies as of late, as the Canadian powerhouse failed to make a quarterfinal since April, when he lost in the Barcelona semis to the king of clay, Spaniard Rafael Nadal. Raonic caught fire at the best of times though, achieving the biggest result of his career on home soil, at the Masters 1000 in Montreal. To the delight of the host nation, he made it all the way to the final, becoming the first home grown player to make the championship match in more than 50 years
Raonic's route to the final was far from smooth though. In the third round, he benefitted from a controversial decision to beat recent Washington titlist, Juan Martin del Potro. Rushing to find a winner, Milos touched the net, but the empire did not see it and gave him the point. Del Potro was so irritated by the unfair call, that he completely lost focus, dropping the next two games to gift his opponent a 7-5,6-4 victory. And things only got more difficult as the tournament progressed. After overcoming a stiff challenge from Latvian Ernests Gulbis in the quarterfinals, the Canadian had to rely on all his experience to end the dream run of his compatriot, Vasek Pospisil, 7-6 in the decider.
Playing in his first Masters 1000 final, Milos failed to provide the crowd the perfect ending to what has been a historical week for Canadian men's tennis. Although heavily cheered by his supporters, he ended up being crushed once again by Rafa Nadal, who collected a record 25th Masters crown. Despite winning only four games against the Spaniard, Raonic remained upbeat about what he achieved in Montreal: "There's a lot of things, a lot of steps, a lot of professionalism that is not optional really to get to this level, stuff I really pride myself in, I put a lot of emphasis on," he said. "To do it here is really special for me, but also it's very motivating for the next steps to sort of know that I've made that step to where I want to be. It makes me want to push harder and work more to make the next step to go down that line and try to get as close as I can to my goals."
And the phenomenal result has helped Milos achieve one of his career goals. On Monday he broke into the top 10 for the first time, becoming the first Canadian to accomplish the feat. Will he become the next world No.1, I don't think so. He does have a killer serve and powerful groundstrokes, but he does lack the all-round game and the consistency to challenge someone like Murray, or Djokovic, or Nadal. However, provided he puts in the hard work and remains mentally tough, Milos will surely have a bright future ahead of him.
Raonic's route to the final was far from smooth though. In the third round, he benefitted from a controversial decision to beat recent Washington titlist, Juan Martin del Potro. Rushing to find a winner, Milos touched the net, but the empire did not see it and gave him the point. Del Potro was so irritated by the unfair call, that he completely lost focus, dropping the next two games to gift his opponent a 7-5,6-4 victory. And things only got more difficult as the tournament progressed. After overcoming a stiff challenge from Latvian Ernests Gulbis in the quarterfinals, the Canadian had to rely on all his experience to end the dream run of his compatriot, Vasek Pospisil, 7-6 in the decider.
Playing in his first Masters 1000 final, Milos failed to provide the crowd the perfect ending to what has been a historical week for Canadian men's tennis. Although heavily cheered by his supporters, he ended up being crushed once again by Rafa Nadal, who collected a record 25th Masters crown. Despite winning only four games against the Spaniard, Raonic remained upbeat about what he achieved in Montreal: "There's a lot of things, a lot of steps, a lot of professionalism that is not optional really to get to this level, stuff I really pride myself in, I put a lot of emphasis on," he said. "To do it here is really special for me, but also it's very motivating for the next steps to sort of know that I've made that step to where I want to be. It makes me want to push harder and work more to make the next step to go down that line and try to get as close as I can to my goals."
And the phenomenal result has helped Milos achieve one of his career goals. On Monday he broke into the top 10 for the first time, becoming the first Canadian to accomplish the feat. Will he become the next world No.1, I don't think so. He does have a killer serve and powerful groundstrokes, but he does lack the all-round game and the consistency to challenge someone like Murray, or Djokovic, or Nadal. However, provided he puts in the hard work and remains mentally tough, Milos will surely have a bright future ahead of him.
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| Following his 6-4,1-6,7-6 victory over him compatriot Vasek Pospisil, Milos Raonic hit the jackpot. He booked his place in the biggest final of his career and was guaranteed his top 10 debut. |
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| The first Canadian to reach the Rogers Cup final since 1969, Milos Raonic was no match for an utterly dominant Rafael Nadal. Although cheered by the partisan crowd, Milos lost his first Masters 1000 final 6-2,6-2. |
photos: GETTY IMAGES
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