Milos Raonic to join the elite?

Smart money on Milos Raonic joining the Elite by Neil Harman today in The Times.

(Okay, it is behind the times because it is pre the match vs Fed)

Novak Djokovic sees Milos Raonic approaching. “I always say to him that we in Serbia are the hard workers but Montenegro, they are smart,” he says. “When the countries split, they got the bit with the beach.” The two men share some words in their native tongues and part, the air thick with laughter.

Raonic is a man of Montenegro, from where his parents emigrated when he was 3 to settle in a northern suburb of Toronto. Today, as an exceedingly proud Canadian and one of the few players being talked about in the “most likely to” group, he faces Roger Federer, the No 3 seed, in the third round of the BNP Paribas Open.

If there comes a time when one or other of Djokovic, Federer, Rafael Nadal or Andy Murray does not compete in the semi-finals of a grand-slam tournament, who might overturn the applecart? Raonic fits the bill: tall, young, athletic, possessing a sledgehammer serve, oceans of self-belief and, to use Djokovic’s word, smart.

The world No 27 (three places down from his career high) has also known what it is to enjoy the fruits of his talents and then to overcome adversity.He has faced and taken brave decisions about his physical welfare, working endless hours to get his body back into shape and appreciating that every little bit he can do on the court helps not only him but also his nation’s standing.

That is most fundamentally expressed in his setting up of the Milos Raonic Found-ation, to which the finishing formal touches are at present being made and which will seek to help a relatively overlooked section of society.

“My goal is to help kids with prosthetic limbs who can’t afford the parts and need help to get into sport,” he said. “I did my research and found that it’s very expensive.

“Toronto is famous for the Toronto SickKids hospital. It’s amazing there; it’s something I can be a big part of, and if you can show up and play tennis with them it can change a kid’s outlook.

“I’ve done a few visits to hospitals and they have an understanding and knowledge that put people like me, who are really privileged, back a step. They are able to make a lot more of the little things they have, and there are times when we have a lot of things and we make a lot less of it.”

Raonic has seen enough of doctors’ waiting rooms in recent months to know what he is talking about. At Wimbledon last year, his hip crumbled in the second round. He flew to Vail, Colorado and was told that an operation would eventually be required but he could survive through the summer with injections.

“I said: ‘Let’s do it now to make sure it’s behind me,’ because it’s hard to be able to play with doubts in the back of your mind,” he said.

“The doctor said I was young and it would heal quickly. Half an hour after I woke from the anaesthesia, I had to be on the bike to help heal the scar tissue and from that day on I was doing around 12 hours of work a day — more exhausting than playing or training. It was walk, walk, walk, hour after hour. Nothing that excites you, but work that needed to be done.”

Recently, too, he has had a niggle in a knee and he was straight back to the medical staff who thought they had discovered a four-millimetre tear in a tendon. But, after a couple of MRI scans, they realised it was only tendinitis. “As soon as I heard there was no risk, I said: ‘OK, let’s get back to it,’ ” he said. “I’m growing horizontally rather than vertically, I hope. I’m trying to get stronger. I always had pretty strong legs and it’s been unfortunate that these have all been lower-body injuries. I pay a lot of attention to little things and spend a lot of time in the physio rooms to avoid all of these not-so-fun moments.”

The fun picks up when you are preparing to face a player such as Federer. “The top four sell the tickets, but the mentality is changing for sure,” Raonic said. “I’m not that big into being in the spotlight, but as long as it’s for the right reasons . . . I wouldn’t want to be there because of who I’m dating. I want to keep that to myself.

“If I think about someone thinking about me, I would want them to say: ‘Oh, did you hear about Milos Raonic, he did this in tennis?’ Winning is all that matters to me.” As Djokovic said: smart.



Mature beyond his years!

Nice article, thanks for posting.
A strong mentality for sure and top 5-6 player for me, he's at the head of the "brat pack". My only worry is that he's a big lad and they tend to suffer more injuries and movement is an issue against the very best. I wouldnt say he's a Sampras as some have done...maybe more of a consistent Phillopousis if he can stay injury free.

Yes he can look very unco-ordinated at times like all of these really tall guys.

Still he seems very focused and the right mentality usually means that (health willing) a player will maximise his potential.

I think you're right TP, with that type of mentality he'll be good at maximising what he has and managing his body well too if he;'s had experience of some early injuries. At least his massive serve will always reduce the load on his body...unlike Delpo who although has a good serve, doesnt quite make the best of it given he's 6'6'.
History shows its the guys around 5'11' to 6'2' that dominate the tour at the top (something like >95% of all weeks at #1 in Open era....and only pre-early 80s were guys smaller at the top...except Rios 1-2 weeks?).
Looking forward to seeing Milos's progress though, and expect him to be top 10 by year end...maybe get to WTF.

thanks for the article TP.
I didn't realise what he had to do to recover from surgery.....talk about grit and determination, you can see it all over his face.
Yes, he is quite smart and calm , but underneath he's really passionate, just able to keep the lid on it. I saw him go a bit ROARRRR against Harrison in their last match; it was kind of cute because they both look like two overgrown babies.
He's got all the elements for a great career, how great, it's up to him to show us.

The more times he plays the top 3 players the better he will become if he becomes better at the net then I see a future top 5 player. I'm confident he will dominate his future rival Harrison the same way Djokovic has been dominating Nadal circa 2011.