Milos Raonic moving towards the Top-10 ranking – Tennis Special
Canada’s rising star, Milos Raonic, is improving his ranking with every passing week and it looks like the time is near when he will be among the top 10 players on the ATP World Tour.
The 6ft 5in tall Canadian is living up to his potential, taking full advantage of the huge talent he has got. He has attained his best ranking of number 19 in the world this week, jumping five places from his previous position
of 24.
Last week, Raonic advanced to the last-eight stage at an ATP World Tour Masters 1000 event for the first time in his career. He lost to the then world number 11, John Isner of USA, in the quarter-finals of the Rogers Cup in Toronto.
It was special for the Canadian number one, as he had grabbed this much success for the first time in front of his home crowd. Although, Raonic was helped by Andy Murray’s withdrawal from their third round encounter.
Raonic came on the scene of tennis world at the start of 2011, when he reached the fourth round of the first Grand Slam of the season, the Australian Open. The Monte-Carlo, Monaco resident won a title, was runner-up at one event
and made it to the last-four stage at a couple of tournaments later in the year to prove that success at the Australian Open was not a fluke. Raonic ended the season on 31st spot in the ATP Rankings.
The Canadian player made the best possible start in 2012. Playing his first event of the year, Raonic captured title at the Aircel Chennai Open. He could not match his last year’s performance at the Australian Open, as he lost
to former world number one, Lleyton Hewitt, in the third round but he succeeded in defending his SAP Open title after that.
Raonic also made his mark on the clay courts this season, reaching the semi-finals at the Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell, where he stunned Andy Murray in the quarters, and third round at the French Open.
Representing his country at the London Olympics, Raonic was involved in the then longest match of Olympics history against France’s Jo-Wilfried Tsonga. However, the ending did not turn out to be in the Canadian’s favour as he lost
it 3-6, 6-3, 23-25.
The thing lying between Raonic and the top 10 ranking is his ability to beat the players who are already there.
After losing to Tsonga at the Olympics, he said, “I’ve sort of been knocking on the door. Hopefully next time around, I can sort of kick it down and make the most of it. I think, if I can get through one of these, I think it just
opens up a lot more doors.”
The Canadian added, “Hopefully next time around, I can sort of kick it down and make the most of it. I think, if I can get through one of these, I think it just opens up a lot more doors. I think the difference is just going to
come down to how I deal with the big points. I think going into next time, I’ll be better equipped. The question is: how much?”
A strong showing at the US Open will move him further close to the Top-10. Some good performances at the ATP Masters Series events after the final Grand Slam of the year can get him into the best 10 players in the world.
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