Milos Conquers Thailand

Canadian powerhouse, Milos Raonic, is making a strong push toward the top of the rankings by defeating Czech Tomas Berdych to collect his fifth career title in Bangkok. Having cracked the top 10 earlier this summer, Milos is fighting hard to book a seat at the Season's Ending Championships in London for the first time. The victory is definitely helping his cause, as he now sits within 500 points from the last qualifying spot. Talking about his hopes, Raonic confessed: "It would mean a lot, it was a goal. After [the] clay and grass [seasons], it seemed very distant... I've put a lot of good results together."
The Canadian produced a superb display in Thailand, managing to avenge the heart-breaking defeat to Richard Gasquet at the US Open, beating the Frenchman in the semis. He got his second consecutive top 10 win over Berdych to claim his second crown of 2013 after the San Jose triple. "I think I'm playing great tennis, I'm serving really well, I'm doing a lot of good things. If I keep that up I think I'll have opportunities and will put myself in a good position, no matter who [I play]," he said.
Following his emphatic breakthrough in 2011, I do admit I was expecting a faster rise. Although he has been a constant presence within the top 20, Milos has not quite had the big result he was announcing. His best performance came in Montreal earlier this year where he made his first Masters 1000 final, but other than that he only shone at smaller tournaments. I feel he is currently lacking that strong run at a Slam to fully establish himself as a top contender in men's tennis. The Canadian is the highest-ranked under 23 years old, so time is on his side. Plus, he is showing consistency and a maturity way beyond his age, so I am confident he will achieve his goals.

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Gasquet Steps It Up

Renowned for his habit of losing the important matches, talented Frenchman, Richard Gasquet, stepped it up at this year's US Open, hanging in tough to beat Canadian powerhouse, Milos Raonic. In a gruelling encounter that lasted four hours and 40 minutes, Richard showed much improved mental strength, recovering from one-set-to-two down to triumph 6-7,7-6,2-6,7-6,7-5.

The victory also marks a change of fortune for Gasquet who has a miserable 1-15 fourth round record in Slams. The only time he passed this stage was in 2007 at Wimbledon, where he lost in the semifinals to Roger Federer. At Flushing Meadows, the Frenchman has a good chance of equalling that performance as he goes on to face Spaniard David Ferrer next. Richard has the game and the talent to potentially win a major. However, so far, he couldn't quite challenge the big names. This year saw the rebirth of the Frenchman and maybe the success against Raonic is another huge step in the right direction. However, he really needs to overcome Ferrer to consolidate the great run.

Richard suffered a heart-breaking loss earlier this season, succumbing to Stan Wawrinka in the fourth round at the French Open, letting a two-sets-to-love lead go to waste. He learned from that defeat and the win against Raonic comes as a sort of consolation. The Frenchman was extremely motivated to get the win. At the press conference, he admitted having talked to himself throughout the match, saying “You need to win.” “I did it! And it’s a big victory for me,” declared an enthusiastic Richard. Well done, Gasquet! On to the semifinals!

Richard Gasquet showed much improved mental strength to overcome hot gun Canadian, Milos Raonic, 6-7,7-6,2-6,7-6,7-5 to reach his first quarterfinal at the US Open.

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Raonic Raises the Flag for Canada

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.

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.

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. 

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Japan's Idol Conquers Tokyo

Kei Nishikori has been one of the outstanding youngsters on the ATP tour for a few years now, but it only in the last 12 months that he really made his mark, challenging the big guns and fighting for the big wins. His most notable result came in Basel where he beat then world number 1, Novak Djokovic, in the semis, before losing the final to local royalty, Roger Federer. He continued his excellent run in Australia, where he became the first Japanese player in the Open Era to reach the quarterfinals in Melbourne.

Although this has been a pretty consistent season, nothing much happened after the Australian Open and Kei was yet to obtain a groundbreaking performance, something that would attest his newly found presence in the top 20. Things improved slightly at the start of the Asian swing, as Nishikori reached the semis in Kuala Lumpur where he lost a nail-biter against eventual champion, Argentinean Juan Monaco. He carried the momentum on to Tokyo, his home tournament, a venue where the immense pressure that rested on his shoulders impeded him from obtaining a great result in the past. 

Cheered by the partisan crowd, Kei shocked second-seeded Czech, Tomas Berdych, in the quarterfinals before overcoming Cypriot Marcos Baghdatis to set up a final showdown with Canadian powerhouse, Milos Raonic. Relying on some inspired returns and aggressive tactics, the Japanese showed nerves of steal to comeback and win the decider 6-0, collecting thus his second career title. He also became the first Japanese player to claim the Tokyo crown. 

"To win a (ATP) 500 title in Japan has special meaning. Until now I had never been able to play well in Japan. There was so much pressure. I thought I lacked mental toughness. Being able to break through that barrier playing my best tennis was amazing. I still can't believe it," said Nishikori, who is projected to rise from 17th to 15th in the world rankings on Monday. "This week I probably played the best tennis of my life. Breaking into the top 10 is the goal now," he added.

Petit Japanese, Kei Nishikori, showed just how big his game is, overcoming big-hitter Canadian Milos Raonic 7-6,3-6,6-0 to win his hometown tournament in Tokyo.

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Tsonga Wins the Clash of the Titans

One of the most anticipated encounters of the 2012 London Olympics was the second round tie between Canadian Milos Raonic and French number 1, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga. Although Tsonga started as the big favorite, he did look rusty and out of sorts in his opener against Brazilian Thomaz Bellucci, so provided his serve was at the usual standards, Milos was in with a great chance. With both players showing a sensational display, the clash of these two titans transformed into an epic life-and-death battle.

Tsonga is no stranger when it comes to success, especially not on grass. The 2008 Australian Open runner-up has now lost two consecutive Wimbledon semifinals, in 2011 to Djokovic, respectively this year to an inspired Andy Murray. On the other side, teen sensation, Raonic, is expected to achieve great things in his career. So far he is yet to fully explore his potential, but there were many occasions on which he showed what he's truly made of. Some of his most memorable performances came earlier this year against the world's greatest, Roger Federer, as he twice pushed the Swiss to a third set tiebreak.

The battle between the two killer servers started rather surprisingly with Tsonga breaking serve to ensure a decisive advantage as he went on to serve out the first set 6-3. A similar situation happened in the second act, with Raonic breaking early to level the match 3-6,6-3. A rain delay stopped the dispute at 2-1 in the decider with the Canadian serving, but when play resumed a few hours later, both players were determined to give it their best. With some sensational serves from both sides, it took very little to differentiate between the two. Jo seemed more fragile serve, but he somehow managed to save several break points keeping his noise on front. With the match going the distance, it was ultimately the Canadian who faltered, being broken in the 52nd game to hand over a hard fought 6-3,3-6,27-25 victory to the Frenchman. The match became the longest in the Olympic history.

While Raonic is left to rue on yet another missed opportunity, Jo goes on to face Spaniard Feliciano Gonzales next. He is projected to square off with world number 2, Novak Djokovic, in the quarterfinals.

In the longest Olympic battle, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga succumbed Milos Raonic 6-3,3-6,27-25 to book his place in the third round.

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Rusty Federer Shakes Off Raonic

After a five weeks hiatus, Roger Federer opened his clay court campaign with a second round clash against the hottest youngest on the tour, i.e. Canadian powerhorse Milos Raonic, at the controversial Madrid Masters 1000. The event stirred deep waters after being hit by critics from players, including the Federer-Nadal-Djokovic trio, who complained that their opinion regarding the newly introduced blue clay was not taken into consideration, as the organizers went ahead with their plan despite their stiff resistance.

Besides trying to adjust to the unusual conditions, Federer had to also deal with a dangerous opponent, the Canadian coming off his best claycourt performance following a career's best victory over Andy Murray en route to reaching the semifinals in Barcelona. And with their previous meeting going the distance, Roger was destined for a tough day at the office.

While the Swiss was pretty rusty in his first match back, Milos showed plenty of stamina as he looked poised for a straight sets win. He broke decisively in the opening act at 4-4 to then bag the set with a convincing service display. However, by failing to take his chances in the second set, he allowed Federer to turn things around. The Swiss broke at 6-5 and leveled the dispute. Nevertheless, Raonic had plenty of opportunities again in the decider, but once more Roger fought them off pushing the match into a tiebreaker. At this point, his experience proved vital as he eventually succumbed the brave resilience of the young Canadian.
It was indeed a great challenge for the Swiss who, after escaping from the brink of defeat, now gains extra confidence he needs to achieve his goal. As he stated a couple of days ago, he is set to unleash his quest for the top spot, as well as for the other big prizes of the season.

Milos Raonic looked set to record the biggest win of his short career leading 6-4,5-5 30/40 on Federer's serve, but he eventually lost the nail-biter 6-4,5-7,6-7.

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Walking in Memphis

A late bloomer on the men's tour, Jürgen Melzer, has had some impressive achievements in 2010, his good results carrying him all the way to number 8 in the ranking in April 2011. He struggled to keep it going though, and, as his form started to fade midway through last season, he was eventually pushed outside the top 40 earlier this month. However, after a dream week, the Austrian seems to have finally gotten his career back on track with a surprising run to the Memphis title. 

Melzer embarked on a rollercoaster though, living on the edge in all of his matches. After barely escaping big servers Denis Istomin and Ivan Dodig in the first two rounds by winning the decider in a tiebreak, he went on to tackle number 1 seeded American, John Isner, in the quarterfinals. Showing the kind of display that took him to the semifinals of the 2010 French Open, Jürgen broke decisively in the first set, to then seal a 6-3,7-6 victory with yet another excellently played tiebreaker. Carrying on a great momentum, the Austrian succumbed tricky Radek Stepanek in the last four, qualifying for a final act showdown against red-hot Milos Raonic. The Canadian, a winner of two titles already this year, was the favourite. However, his brilliance in key moments proved vital for Melzer who came out on top after two tight sets, collecting thus his fourth career crown.
An excellent doubles player with three Grand Slam trophies to his name (at Wimbledon 2010 and US Open 2011 with Philipp Petzeschner and at last year's Wimbledon with Iveta Benesova), he strengthens his singles credentials with this result, at the age of 30 making his return into the top 20, at 19th. 

Jurgen Melzer gave another proof of his brilliance, overcoming Canadian Milos Raonic to claim the crown in Memphis.

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Hewitt Turns Back Time

A force to be reckoned with until mid 2000s, Lleyton Hewitt's late career has been plagued by injuries. After he lost his reign to Swiss Roger Federer, the Australian has been struggling to keep up with the new generation, but had to settle with seeing Federer, Nadal, and later Djokovic, get their hands on all the big prizes. With a neverending list of injuries and a lack of form, Lleyton was forced to keep a low profile. Although he was fighting to get back to winning ways, his efforts were cut short everytime, as he constantly picked up new problems to deal with. Under these circumstances, he had to dramatically reduce his schedule, making appearances to only a handful of tournaments per season. Because of this he became a sporadic presence on the ATP tour and, soon, discussions about a possible retirement began to stir up.

He slammed the rumours at the start of this year by making another comeback attempt. Nevertheless, the beginning was not promising, as he failed to make an impression at either the Hopman Cup in Perth, where he teamed up with Jarmila Gajdosova, or in Sydney, where he lost in the inaugural round to Serbian Viktor Troicki. Therefore, at the inception of the Australian Open, the currently ranked 181 Aussie was not destined to go very far. His rustiness shown in the first round, were he dug deep to defeat German young hope Cedrik-Marcel Stebe, rearing off five consecutive games in the fourth set to seal the victory. In his next match, facing his old time rival Andy Roddick, Lleyton got extremely lucky when the American had to withdrawn while being down one set to two. Qualified for yet another third round showing in Melbourne, he went on to meet one of the hottest players in the draw, Canadian Milos Raonic, who was expected to book his place in the last 16th for the second year running. After a slow start which saw the 23rd favourite win the first act 6-4, the Australian managed to recapture some vintage form, neutralizing his opponent's biggest weapon, i.e. his serve. Deposed of his main asset, Milos' whole game crumbled. Lacking any obvious strength, Lleyton did what he does best. With a very efficient display he minimized the number of unforced errors, pressuring his opponent into going after the big shots. The move proved successful, as Milos missed, leaving a delighted nation witness their hero complete a sensational 4-6,6-3,7-6,6-3 triumph.

As impressive as his run might have been so far, the fairytale is assumed to end pretty soon. Hewitt will next tackle Novak Djokovic, a player to whom he lost the last four times they met.

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Bulletproof Raonic Wins in Chennai

After a storming 2011, Canadian Milos Raonic is expected to step it up this season and take his career to some new heights. The 'Newcomer of the year' is one of the few teen sensations on the ATP tour and with a booming serve that constantly exceeds 200 mph, Raonic could prove a force to be reckoned with in future years. He started 2012 in Chennai where the number fourth seed showed a glimpse of his enormous potential by capturing a dream week which saw him collect his second ATP title.

Benefiting from an inaugural round bye, Milos' first test came against Victor Hanescu. Relying on his usual assets, i.e. powerful serves and whipping forehands, he was in for a quick day at the office, breezing past the Romanian 6-1,6-4. As he went on to tackle Dudi Sela in the quarterfinals, his serve made the difference once again as he survived Israeli's stiff challenge and triumphed 7-6,6-4. His next encounter was expected to be his toughest so far, as second seeded Spaniard Nicolas Almagro started off as the clear favourite. The young Canadian did not look intimated though, cruising through a double 6-4 win and booking his place in his third final of his career. Last year he defeated Fernando Verdasco to claim his maiden trophy in San Jose, then went on to lose a tight affair in the Memphis finale against American Andy Roddick. So far all his final acts have been labour intensive and Chennai was not about to go down otherwise. His opponent, the recent top 10 acquisition, Serbian Janko Tipsarevic, was not willing to give this up easily. But nor was Milos. After a three hours and 14 minutes marathon, the Canadian was able to close it out, winning the third set tiebreaker 7-4 and ensuring a 6-7,7-6,7-6 victory. Throughout his battle with Janko, he emphasized once more his main weapon throwing 35 aces and fighting off several break points to never surrender his serve. Moreover, he became the first player to win a tournament without doing so since Federer conquered Halle in 2008.

Two top 10 wins and a new crown backed by a solid display gave Raonic the perfect start to his 2012 campaign, as the Canadian looks well pose to capitalize on his breakthrough season and achieve his goals.

Young gun, Canadian Milos Raonic, proved his strength, overcoming Serbian Janko Tipsarevic 6-7,7-6,7-6 to claim his second career title in Chennai.

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Experiencing the New Sensation: Milos Raonic

The beginning of 2011 saw the emergence of a new tennis sensation on the ATP tour: Milos Raonic. After a brave run in Australia where he made it into the last 16, losing in a tough four-setter to David Ferrer, Raonic unleashed his huge potential during the American hardcourt season. It all started in San Jose the last fortnight. After some easy wins against Xavier Malisse, James Blake and Richard Berankis, the 20 years old Canadian benefited from the withdrawal of French Gael Monfils to advance into his first ATP final. Encouraged by his meeting with idol Pete Sampras, Milos took full advance of his powerful ground strokes and giant serve to beat Spaniard Fernando Verdasco in two tie-breaks. By capturing the title, the Montenegro born Raonic became the first Canadian men player to achieve this feat, emulating Greg Rusedski's record dating back to 1995.

This wasn't a one hit wonder though, as the impressive run of form continued. After disposing once more of Verdasco, barely escaping Stepanek and overcoming Fish in the semis, the red-hot Canadian made it all the way to the final in Memphis. He came second-best in a tight final against American Andy Roddick who eventually won his 30th career title. Although their games are very much alike, the experience proved decisive in helping Roddick seize a hard fought 7-5 final set victory. Milos' excellent accomplishments saw him rise to number 37 in the world, the highest-ever ranking for a Canadian men's singles player. 

The question that arises now is not whether Raonic has the game to challenge the world's best, but if he can remain consistent enough to threaten Federer, Nadal & co. on a regular basis. During the last decades, many shooting stars came into public scrutiny. Mario Ancic, Marcos Baghdatis, Frenchmen Monfils, Tsonga and Gasquet, Americans Isner and Querrey or recently, Latvian Ernest Gulbis, are just some examples of players who, at some point, promised to dominate men's tennis. Although their results have been notable, no one really stood out. They've all made it into the top 20, some even to top 10, but they couldn't pose a thread to the dominance of Nadal or Federer. Still, there was a player who managed to break this barrier and  win a Grand Slam. Argentinian Juan Martin Del Potro captured the 2009 US Open after a memorable final against  the Swiss Maestro. For me, he is the only wonder boy who actually delivered on the huge expectations. He experienced some physical issues last year, but once he's back to his best, he will surely be competing for the most prestigious prizes once again.

Even though I am just getting familiarized with Milos, I actually noticed some similarities with Del Potro's game. Both can heavily rely on a devastating serve. Moreover, their forehands are of killer's magnitude. Consequently, if he stays healthy and keeps his feet on the ground, I could really see Raonic become a force to be reckoned with on the men's tour.

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