2011 Sony Ericsson Open – ATP Wildcards Part III: Milos Raonic
World Number 34 Milos Raonic is the third player on the Association of Tennis Professionals to be awarded a wild card for the 2011 Miami Masters, or the Sony Ericsson Open. The 20-year-old will be participating in the 2011 ATP
World Tour Masters 1000 Series tournament next week, after being ousted from the 2011 BNP Paribas Open in the second round.
The young Canadian powerhouse is no doubt a force to be reckoned with. He joined the ATP in a professional capacity in 2008, and has spent less than three years on tour. Despite his relative lack of experience, the young player
seems determined to make his mark on the world of tennis.
The player’s rise to the top has been nothing short of meteoric. A year ago, he was ranked somewhere in the lower tiers of the Top 300 players on the ATP, and no one had heard of him. He first came to attention at the 2011 Australian
Open, where he took part in the main draw as a qualifier. He racked up victories against players such as Bjorn Phau and Michael Llodra, before coming up against Russian pro Mikhail Youzhny in the third round. Youzhny was ranked World Number 10 at the time,
and Raonic scored his first victory over a Top Ten player by defeating him in four sets to proceed to the fourth round. Here, he was ousted by World Number 7 David Ferrer.
This was a significant achievement for the player, who seemed to gain great encouragement from his victory at the first Grand Slam of the year. He went on to win his first ATP World title at San Jose, defeating World Number 9 Fernando
Verdasco in straight sets to win the title match. After this coup d'état, he found himself jumping from World Number 152 to World Number 34 in less than a month.
By a fortuitous coincidence, the first player whom Raonic drew in his next tournament was Fernando Verdasco. The Canadian thrashed his opponent in three sets at Memphis, and went on to defeat players such as Radek Stepanek and
Mardy Fish to make it to the title match against Andy Roddick. Although the former World Number 1 won the match, Raonic managed to give him a run for his money and did not admit defeat till the last point.
Milos Raonic was also awarded a wildcard at his most recent tournament, the 2011 ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Indian Wells. He defeated Marsel Ilhan in the first round, and went on to oust Mardy Fish for the second time in a row.
However, he succumbed to injuries in his third round match against Ryan Harrison and lost the match in three sets.
Despite this, the Canadian prodigy is expected to return to top form by the time the Miami Masters roll around. His wildcard issuance demonstrates the great level of interest which he has evoked in tennis circles.
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