A 230 KPH Shot in the Arm

Sometime a win is just a win. Sometimes it's more.

In the case of Milos Raonic's victory Sunday in San Jose, it's only the biggest shot in the arm for Canadian tennis in at least 15 years. Proclaimed by Patrick McEnroe at the Australian Open last month as "maybe the next big thing in men's tennis," Raonic's blistering serve carried him past Fernando Verdasco of Spain and to his first ATP victory.

Greg Rusedski was the last Canadian to win a tournament, and soon after he cashed in his talent for British citizenship, so it's hard to count much of what Rusedski did as anything that contributed to Canadian tennis.

Raonic may indeed be the real deal. Winning any event in men's pro tennis today is nothing to sneeze at, given the remarkable depth of the men's game in the modern era, the raw physical nature of the sport these days and the heavy travel demands. Those not in the top 20 don't get all the perqs the top players get, from massage therapists to preferred hotels to convenient scheduling, so winning San Jose was an enormous achievement for the Thornhill-raised Raonic.

Canadian tennis has been waiting a long time for someone like this. Young and articulate with loads of promise, Raonic's cannon-like serve is the stuff of which tennis stars are made. The most popular American player in the post-Agassi, post-Sampras era has been Andy Roddick, who built his game almost totally around his spectacular serve, only adding other elements later.

There are big servers on the tour who don't have much more than that - 6-foot-10 Ivo Karlovic comes to mind - but it would appear Raonic has other compelling elements to his game, including a big forehand that allows him to dictate play and an ability and willingness to come in and play at the net.

The great news is that he's given the country a tennis player to watch, at least for this year. Wimbledon is made for those who can serve and volley, so he'll be worth watching there in June.

At the same time, it's important to put Raonic's Silicon Valley triumph in some perspective so as not to exaggerate it.

This may be the most diluted portion of the men's tennis season, and last week there were no fewer than three ATP tour events, including San Jose, one in Rotterdam and another in Brazil. The world's top three players - Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer and Australian Open champ Novak Djokovic - played in none of them. The San Jose tourney featured only one top 10 player - Fernando Verdasco, beaten by Raonic in the final - and three players currently ranked in the top 20. The fourth-seeded player was Xavier Malisse, currently ranked 45th in the world.

Robin Soderling, the world's No. 4 player, won the Rotterdam tournament, one that had much deeper draw than San Jose and is the bigger event of the two. Nicolas Almagro won on clay in Brazil as the talent on the tour was spread thinly across the globe.

This week, there are three more events in Marseile, Memphis and Buenos Aires. Not only are there too many tour events - players have been complaining about this for years - but too often overlapping events dilute the product.

None of this should take away from Raonic's win. Capturing this tournament was the next logical step in a career that appears to be bursting with promise, and beating Malisse, Verdasco and James Blake demonstrated he could not only defeat experienced tour veterans, but ones with very different kinds of games.

Winning a tournament like this allows him to pile up some points, improve his seeding at future events and continue his drive towards the top 20.

The next step? Following up San Jose with another strong effort in Memphis, a tournament that ranks below Masters events like the Rogers Cup but above the San Jose tourney. What separates the top players from the rest is their ability to put together consistent results That's Raonic's next challenge.

But a win is a win. And this was no ordinary win.

 

 

Comments

[Matt B]

I'm happy Damien covers tennis for the Star but I want Leafs analysis! You wrre away when Beachemin was traded! We need your thoughts!

PS: Love the Roanic won. Gives me a reason to start watching the tour again.

[Jeff]

Hi Damien,

I love how for eons, especially with the quality of hockey we have in this town, tennis goes without a third, nevermind a second glance. Then, suddenly, a young 20-year-old Milos Raonic pops up at the Rogers, Aussie Open and now SAP Open and he is top line news to all those media outlets that do the minimum to cover such sports at any other time. Understanding that tennis in Canada has not given many scribes reason to write about it in many years (Rusedski) but Nestor has been top of his game (that being doubles) for years and he gets minimum respect.

Good on you for the column. Well done. Question - Bobcat is having Milos on this afternoon - has BMac ever held a tennis racquet? What does he know of tennis - please set me wrong and tell me he's covered it in the past.

Best,

[LRS]

I am really hoping the comment above was a sarcastic one. If it wasn't, then shame on you. You come into a tennis related article to complain about Cox not giving an analysis on a practically meaningless trade and then follow it up with just a "PS" tennis comment. Leaf fans are starting to get really annoying!

This is great. If anyone is from Markham, Richmond Hill or surrounding areas and plays tennis on a regular basis, they should have heard about this young man already. He looks to hold a lot of potential, but we should caution not to build him up too quickly. I hope this jumpstarts a new crop of elite players. With Nadal maybe going down to injury (let's hope not for long or career threatening) and Federer looking like he's slipping, what are we left with exactly? Cheering or watching Djokovic isn't exactly the most exciting thing. So, let us hope this kid will become something great and good on him for taking the small initial steps needed with flying colors!

[80s Leafs]

I hate to bring out the over-used tennis-golf comparisons, but remember Mike Weir first won a watered down PGA event before not long after winning the most prestigious of the 4 majors.
Be interesting to see how Raonic's current/future success (knock on wood) changes the face of tennis coverage in this country, the way Weir's golf success (wood long ago eaten by termites) did.

PS Fitting that Sonic Raonic was given maple syrup for winning the SAP open...

[Gary]

It's great we have someone who can now play singles at a high level. Of course we have Nestor in doubles who has been a world class player for some time.

I agree with Raonic's serve on grass he could be dangerous, winning in a similar fashion to yesterday. Hold serve and hope for a break point in the tiebreaker.

Can't wait until June.

[Braco]

Finnaly you write about someone who deserve all the accolades.Just don't write about that lousy hockey team again.