UPDATE (January 9, 2012)
It’s been a great start to the new year for Canadian tennis superstar Milos Raonic. The
now 21-year-old athlete from Thornhill, Ont. recently made headlines for defeating Janko Tipsarević at the
2012
Aircel Chennai Open in India, garnering Raonic his second ATP title.
The three-hour match resulted in Raonic hitting 35 aces compared to the eight from Tipsarević, making it the
fifth highest ace total recorded in a finals match since 1991.
After overcoming a tournament-ending injury at last summer’s Wimbledon, Raonic went on
to compete against (and defeat) his idol, multi champion Pete Sampras in an exhibition match at the
Air
Canada Centre in Toronto last
November.
Next up for Raonic is an
exhibition event in Kooyong, Australia before he competes in the first Grand Slam of the season at the
Australian
Open in
Melbourne. And we expect even more great things to come.
ORIGINAL ARTICLE (July 12,
2011)
In the animal kingdom, no mammal is
faster than a cheetah, with a maximum recorded speed of 114 kilometres per hour. In the world of hockey,
Russian defenceman Denis Kulyash holds the record for the fastest slapshot, clocking in at 178 km/h. And the
fastest recorded rail speed in Canada is 226 km/h. So what do these three speedy records all have in
common?
They’d all lose a race to Milos
Raonic’s tennis serve.
Raonic, the 20-year-old tennis
pro from Thornhill, Ont., currently sits in a tie for fifth place for the fastest recorded serve in the game,
clocking in at a whopping 241 km/h, only 10 klicks back of number one Ivo Karlovic. And while Raonic is far
from a one-trick pony, his booming serve could be a difference-maker in the years to come. Well aware of the
importance of a strong first serve, Raonic honed his own with some good old-fashioned hard
work.
“It was just a lot of hours and
hard work in the early mornings when I was growing up to really try to build up my serve,” Raonic told
Lifestyler
in a recent
interview.
And build it up he did. Raonic
is currently leading the tour in aces this year, and it is this powerful yet accurate serve that many believe
will propel the young Canadian into the upper elite of men’s professional tennis, perhaps one day being
mentioned in the same breath as the Sampras’ and the Agassis, the Federers and the Nadals. For Canadian
tennis fans, his meteoric rise up the tennis standings has been a joy to watch. And while the young man
certainly doesn’t lack in confidence, even he didn’t see this coming.
“I had set some goals at the
beginning of the year, and attained them a little quicker than I thought,” he said. “I have always believed
in my game, and have always believed that if I put in the hard work that it would all come
together.”
At the start of 2011, Raonic was
the 153rd-ranked player in the world. Less than two months later, after reaching the fourth round of the
Australian Open and capturing his first ATP Tour title at the SAP Open in San Jose, Calif., in early
February, he suddenly found himself No. 37 in the world, the highest ranking ever achieved by a Canadian. And
at the time of writing, Raonic was the 26th-ranked player in the world.
One week after becoming the
first Canadian since 1995 to win an ATP Tour event at the SAP Open, Raonic nearly made it two in a row as he
was narrowly defeated by American star Andy Roddick in the finals match of the Regions Morgan Keegan
Championships. After the first two sets went to tiebreakers, Raonic came within a whisper of forcing a
decisive third in the final set. It took a dramatic and miraculous diving forehand winner from Roddick to
take the title, a shot he would later call the best shot of his life.
“I don’t really remember much
else besides the fact that I went for the ball,” Roddick told reporters of the miracle shot. “I hit it. I
didn’t really think much of it. Then I heard people cheering. I was like, ‘No, there’s no way that went in.’
I guess it did.”
Pushing one of the best players
in the world to dig deep is evidence that the kid is on the right path. And drawing praise from a former No.
1 player can only add to Raonic’s confidence, not to mention his expectations.
“He’s as exciting of a talent as
we’ve seen in a while,” Roddick said of Raonic after the match. “The good thing for him is he’s going to be
able to learn on the job because that serve is going to win him a lot of matches, even if he goes up and down
with the rest of his play.”
Via his Twitter account, another
former No. 1 player chimed in with his own lofty opinion of Raonic. Hall of Famer John McEnroe, owner of
seven Grand Slam singles titles, tweeted that Raonic is “the real deal” after his strong showing at the
Australian Open. And what’s more, the youngster is doing his best not to let the compliments go to his
head.
“It is an honour for great
tennis players to say that about me, but I have to continue to work hard,” he said.
With interview requests pouring
in and a recent rock-star reception in late March in Toronto, Raonic is quickly becoming the new face of
Canadian tennis. In addition to his news conference at the Lacoste boutique in downtown Toronto, Raonic sat
courtside at a Toronto Raptors game, hitting tennis balls into the boisterous crowd during a
timeout.
With his recent success and
fame, you would think the young tennis player runs the risk of letting such adoration get to his head. Raonic
however displays quite the opposite by appreciating every moment of his newfound celebrity as well as the
ample support he’s been given by his family and fans.
“It was my first time home since
Dec. 28 of last year, so it had been awhile,” he said of his homecoming. “It was great to get back to
Toronto, and everyone was very supportive and I was honoured with the reception everyone gave
me.”
In a country defined by its love
and passion for hockey, other sports often fall by the wayside. For young Canadians to believe they can make
it in these second tier sports, they need someone to look up to, someone to give them hope. Canada has its
fair share of hockey heroes, but that doesn’t mean there haven’t been notable Canucks in other
sports.
Canadian golfer Mike Weir won
the 2003 Masters, perhaps the biggest tournament of the year on the golf circuit, becoming the first
Canadian to win one of golf’s four majors. Steve Nash, out of Victoria, captured back-to-back regular-season
NBA MVP titles in 2005 and 2006. Young golfers on the range can look to Weir for inspiration while hoopsters
on Canada’s basketball courts can try to emulate Nash’s slick ball-handling and deft shooting skills. Now
young Canadian tennis players can look to Raonic for an example of what they can become if they too dedicate
their time and effort to the sport.
“This is something that is very
important to me,” Raonic said of his potential impact on the game in Canada. “I hope that I can steer some
kids that would normally have gone into other sports in Canada into tennis and really have an impact on
growth of tennis in Canada, as it is a great sport.”
Raonic, who said he would have
entered the financial world if it weren’t for tennis, believes in the value of getting an education. Taking
finance courses on the side while he plays on tour, Raonic said education has always been a priority in his
family. And speaking of family, it is clear that Raonic’s is completely behind him in his quest for tennis
supremacy.
“My mother and father have
always been behind me and my brother and sister as well,” he said. “We are a very close family and they will
always be there for me.”
So besides Raonic making a
beeline up the tennis standings, standing toe-to-toe with some of the best in the game and showing some
serious potential to make some noise at the top of the rankings, what else has changed?
“Lots more interviews,” he said
with a smile.
He better get used to
that.
Milos by the
Numbers
479 -
Number of aces in 35 matches so far this season*
16 - Number of
years since a Canadian won an ATP Tour event before his win this year.
38 - Number of
aces in a victory over Radek Stepanek in Memphis this year
241 - His
fastest recorded serve in kilometres per hour
90 - Winning
percentage this year after taking the first set*
371 - World
ranking at the start of 2010
153 - World
ranking at the start of 2011
26 - Current
world ranking
20 - His
age
*As of June 16,
2011
