Disappointing Result: Canadian Tennis Stud Milos Raonic Loses Japan Open Final To Kei Nishikori!

I am disappointed Milos Raonic Canada’s top tennis player lost in the finals of the Japan Open to Kei Nishikori. I am cognziant Kei Nishikori is a solid player his ranking is going to rise to number fifteen in the world and he is also a young player. I feel Milos has more weapons than Kei he has a huge serve, an explosive forehand and he volleys well. An area that Kei exposed today is Milos movement and his tendency to run around his backhand to hit forehands.

Milos speed around the tennis court is improved but he needs to get even quicker and faster if he wants to challenge the top players. I also believe Milos consistency needs to improve he seems to do well when he has no pressure. Milos victory over Andy Murray was unexpected because Murray is ranked higher.

Today, Milos was supposed to beat Kei because he is higher ranked and he has more weapons. The pressure seemed to get to Milos today and he dropped serve immediately at the start of the match.

Milos was probably exhausted emotionally, physically, and mentally after upsetting two top ten players Andy Murray and Janko Tipsarevic. However, Milos has now lost three ATP 500 finals in his career. Milos ranking will rise to number fourteen in the world on Monday and he crosses the $1 million dollar mark in prize money earned on the tennis court this year. I am pleased that Milos has made some improvements to his game his court positioning is better he is standing on the baseline and being aggressive. The only concern I have is that I think Milos needs to start out of the blocks better in his matches. Today, Milos needed a good start Kei was determined to win in front of the Japanese people in his own country and he was very aggressive. Milos had a 3-0 lead in the first set tiebreaker yet lost the first set. Milos managed to win the second set 6-3 but he got destroyed in the final set losing 6-0. Milos won two long matches against Andy Murray and Janko Tipsarevic in the semifinals and quarterfinals fighting off match points so I know he is mentally tough.

Hopefully, in the future, Milos will be better mentally prepared when he reaches a high profile final because if he wants to be a top ten player he’s got to win these kinds of matches.

Milos Raonic Loses In Second Round Of Wimbledon Is He The Real Deal Or Just Canadian Media Hype?

 

I am not surprised that Milos Raonic lost to Sam Querrey in the second round of Wimbledon because I knew it was going to be a tough match. Querrey defeated Raonic 6-7 7-6 7-6 6-4. On paper, Raonic was the favourite because he’s ranked number 21 and Queerey is ranked 64th. However, Querrey is a former top twenty player and he’s coming back from an elbow injury.

This is a terrible result because Rafael Nadal lost yesterday and the door was open for Raonic to do some damage at Wimbledon. Raonic was supposed to reach the fourth round at least and he already has beaten Andy Murray. Since Raonic is the twenty first seed losing in the second round just proves he has a long way to go before he can be considered a contender at a grand slam. Raonic has won three small events in his career but he hasn’t demonstrated that he is ready to take the next big step.

The question has to be asked is Milos Raonic just Canadian media hype? Are Canadians expecting too much from Raonic? In Canada, we have never had a male tennis player ranked in the top twenty five. I understand the excitement of having a talented young Canadian male player competing for Canada.  However,  Raonic isn’t even ranked in the ATP top twenty he’s currently ranked number twenty one. Raonic hasn’t beaten the big three Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal, or Roger Federer. Raonic lost to Federer three times this year in in three set matches. Raonic is close but he still needs a lot of improvement in his game before the Canadian press should call this young man a contender.

How can Raonic be a contender to win Wimbledon when the kid isn’t even ranked in the top ten? I believe Raonic is too nice, too soft, too Canadian. After Raonic lost to Querrey he’s smiling and having a conversation with him. Why is Raonic smiling he just lost the match no need to smile. Where is the bitterness and the anger? Where is the rage? Raonic should be furious at himself for not coming through with the victory.

Milos is an attractive, intelligent young man and he’s very thoughtful  but I am not sure if he has the killer instinct? Raonic seems to want to be liked by his peers on the ATP Tour the question is why?  The professional tennis tour is competitive, but I am not sure if Raonic has that intense desire to become a champion? I am not saying Raonic needs to be rude but I think he needs to distance himself from the other players emotionally.

Raonic has never reached the quarterfinals of a grand slam event and he hasn’t won a Masters series title. The Canadian media are obsessed with Raonic’s big serve which is a weapon. Raonic also has a powerful forehand and he volleys very well.

However, a closer inspection of Raonic’s game reveals some weaknesses. First, Raonic’s backhand is a weakness and the other men on the ATP Tour have figured it out. Raonic has an excellent slice backhand but his two handed backhand he makes a lot of errors off of it. Raonic tends to hit his two handed backhand into the net a lot.  Second, Raonic also has a poor break point conversion rate he doesn’t break serve enough. Raonic can hold his serve which is very important but he has difficulty breaking his opponent’s serve.

A lot of Raonic’s matches have 7-6 scores because he’s not breaking serve enough and hoping to win the set in a tiebreaker. In order for Raonic to reach the top ten he needs to break his opponent’s serve. Raonic’s coach Galo Blanco need to help Raonic realize he’s got to improve his return game if he wants to become a champion.

Raonic only broke Querrey’s serve once despite having five opportunities to break his serve.

Third, Raonic’s movement isn’t the best he moves okay for a six foot five man but he isn’t quick. Raonic needs to improve his movement on the court.

Fourth, I think the Canadian media is to blame because the expectations are simply too high for Raonic. He is only twenty one years of age he needs more time to mature mentally and physically into his body.  Finally, I think Raonic needs to improve his fitness he’s skinny but  he needs some definition on his body he seems rather fragile. Raonic doesn’t have the ripped abs and muscles like Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic.  Also, if Raonic was more physically fit he wouldn’t get tired in his tennis matches.