2015 Player Preview: Milos Raonic

Milos Raonic breaking into the Top 10 was a long time coming for those in the world of tennis who had seen the serve the Canadian possessed and knew he was destined to rise to the top of the sport. Currently sitting at number 8 in the rankings, having been as high as number 6 in July 2014, Raonic is the real deal.

He should take heart from Marin Cilic’s victory at the US Open, as the Croat played an aggressive, high risk brand of tennis

His success is underpinned by a lethal serve and whilst you might be thinking that this is doing him a major disservice, if you’ll excuse the pun, watch a Raonic match and you might start to agree. Some tennis fans are of the opinion that Raonic is so dominant on serve that he is not entertaining to watch and there is an element of truth in this.

Although Raonic has made serious improvements to the rest of his game, there is still a dramatic difference between his danger levels when serving compared to returning. When coming up against the top guys, if he is going to win a set you can be confident that it will be on a tie-break.

Personally I think variety in styles is great for the game. It is great to see Federer or Djokovic try to handle to missiles that Raonic fire from his serve and it adds a much needed variety to the sport. Raonic himself will have no shame in admitting that his serve is the biggest weapon in his arsenal and will be aware that if he can improve other aspects of his game, he will be a major force for years to come.

The Canadian, who was actually born in Montenegro, is not a natural mover like many players who are 6 foot 5 and above. Whilst he is powerful off the ground, once an opponents gets him moving the errors tend to start flowing a bit too much. On serve he keeps points short and he would do well to replicate this approach on the return.

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Currently he seems content at being drawn into rallying, which whilst admirable, is not playing up to the strengths that he offers. He has a huge game and shouldn’t look to beat the top guys on patience, as most likely he will fail. He should take heart from Marin Cilic’s victory at the US Open, as the Croat played an aggressive, high risk brand of tennis.

Raonic could easily be a fixture in the Top 10 for the next five to ten years, that is how good he is. His popularity is somewhat indifferent right now which perhaps explains why there is less hype for him when compared to the likes of Nishikori and Dimitrov, but don’t discount Raonic from being a major contender in the Grand Slams over the next few years.

Ranking Prediction: 8th

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