It’s rare to see a player leap from well outside the ATP Tour’s top 100 into the top 25 in a matter of one year. But that’s just how special a player Milos Raonic is. In an era of big-boy tennis, the 6-foot-5, 198-pound Montenegrin-turned-Canuck has all the tools — big serve, big groundies, an ever-improving return game. He’s got the intangibles, too, including a fear-free brand of confidence that isn’t often seen in a 21-year-old newbie.
The Galo Blanco-coached upstart is used to getting out of the blocks early. In his first full year on tour in 2011, he reached the Round of 16 at the Australian Open, scoring his first top-10 win (Mikhail Youzhny) along the way; won his first career title in San Jose; then followed that up the very next week by reaching the Memphis final. Suddenly, everyone was talking about The Maple Leaf Missile, that North-of-the-Border wunderkind who would go on to earn ATP Newcomer of the Year honors. He shook off surgery (right hip injury) to kick off 2012 with his second career title, downing Serb Janko Tipsarevic 6-7(4), 7-6(4), 7-6(4) in the Chennai final. And despite a third-round setback against former No. 1 Lleyton Hewitt in Melbourne, he’s looking forward to another strong year, and perhaps another rankings climb into the top 10.
Count Raonic among a short-list of rising teens and early-twenty-somethings (including Bernard Tomic, Ryan Harrison and Grigor Dimitrov) who are gaining notice at the sport’s uppermost echelons.
“The interesting thing for me this year is going to be the rise of both Milos Raonic and Bernard Tomic — and both guys have had great starts to 2012,” said ESPN analyst Darren Cahill. “It wouldn’t surprise me if both of those guys are around the top 10 by the end of this year.”
The question is, are they ready to challenge the Big Four — Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer and Andy Murray — who have all but monopolized the final four slots at the Slams.
“The thing that they do so well is that they do it constantly,” said Raonic, who may have a chance at revenge for his Aussie Open loss when he joins Hewitt at the Feb. 13-19 SAP Open in San Jose, Calif., where he’ll shoot for his first-ever title defense. “They play a high level of tennis and they play better than the rest. But even when they’re not playing their best, they’re always figuring things out, and they believe a lot in themselves. They have a mental edge over everybody. A lot of players respect them a lot. I’m not saying as a tennis player you shouldn’t respect your opponents, but you have to try to put that aside and try to find a way to win. I think there is definitely space. Right now there are a lot of guys who can beat the top four guys. It’s just a matter of a few guys coming up who can beat them constantly. It’s going to take a few steps of improvement from the rest of the group. I don’t think there are guys who are too far off. I feel there are a lot of guys who can compete with them, but it’s just a question of if they can compete with them week in and week out.”
AUSTRALIAN OPEN NOTEBOOK: DAY 11
NADAL-FEDERER RIFT CONTINUES?: Despite reports that Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal had patched things up when it came to their rift over player representation, Sports Illustrated’s Jon Wertheim observed “a palpable absence of the usual organic warmth” during the Spaniard’s 6-7(5), 6-2, 7-6(5), 6-4 semifinal victory over the Swiss on Thursday. Wrote Wertheim, “If there was ever eye contact between the two throughout the match, I didn’t see it.
GO FIGURE: The Bryan Bros. say their favorite court in the world is Melbourne’s Rod Laver Arena.
I SCREAM: According to The Age’s Bruce Elder, “It is…an essential part of any Australian Open that the grunters turn the center court into something between a very noisy orgy, World Wrestling, a tug of war and that ‘I’ll have what she’s having’ scene from ‘When Harry Met Sally.'”
TEARS FOR FEARS: Rafael Nadal said that only 24 hours before his opening-round match he was in his “room crying because I believe I didn’t have the chance to play Melbourne” due to knee pain.
HEADLINES
GRUNTING SHARAPOVA IS HAVING A WAIL OF A TIME
WOMEN STILL CHOKING ON TOO MANY BAGELS
THE NUMBERS
67: Weeks at No. 1 for Caroline Wozniacki, who will drop when the new WTA Tour rankings are published on Jan. 30.
1: Win away from breaking Todd Woodbridge and Mark Woodforde‘s record for the most Grand Slam titles (11) for American’s Bob and Mike Bryan.
11: Straight points Roger Federer lost after the Australia Day fireworks break during his loss to Rafael Nadal.
QUOTEBOOK
“It’s one of the victories that’s going to stay in my mind forever.” — Rafael Nadal on his semifinal win over Roger Federer
“Despite her unfortunate childhood address, the woman does not radiate charm —particularly in press conferences, where a look of utter contempt often crosses her face after she is asked a reasonable question, prompting reporters to check their shoes for dog droppings.” — The Age’s Richard Hinds on Maria Sharapova
“Her worthy tennis against top-five players has not been enough and, unless she finds another gear on serve, or is prepared to leave her comfort zone at the back of the court, those opponents will consistently find her out.” — The Guardian’s Kevin Mitchell on Caroline Wozniacki
