Cameron on ATP: Raonic growing into potential

Milos Raonic has never dropped a set at the SAP Open in San Jose and he never will.

In the final year of the indoor, hard court tournament, Raonic beat Tommy Haas in straight sets 6-4, 6-3.

In his young career, Raonic has won three consecutive SAP Open titles and a title in Chennai. Pretty good for a guy who is only 22 years old.

But at some point, we’ll no longer be focused on the fact that Raonic is the youngest player in the top 40. Sure, he’s 22, but that’s not a baby in tennis in years. Raonic is a top 15 player. He’s no longer just a kid playing in a man’s game — he’s one of the men.

Over the past two weeks, Raonic has shown the doubters that he’s a skilled player with more than just a big serve. Raonic has always had a powerful forehand and that, along with a developing backhand, return, and net game, is turning Raonic into a scary opponent.

Not only did Raonic show off his return winners and down-the-line backhands in San Jose, but he also made quick work of his opponents. Raonic dictated the points in his straight sets win over Sam Querrey in the semifinals. Considering that Raonic had never beaten the big serving American, that’s pretty impressive.

But the doubters want more and so does Raonic. If Raonic is going to be a top-10 player by the end of the year, he needs some top-10 wins. With Indian Wells and Miami less than a month away, it provides Raonic with a perfect opportunity to notch some big wins on a big stage.

With a young player (oops, I just said I wouldn’t focus on his age), confidence can do wonders. String a few wins together, and you start playing at a higher level. That’s what’s happening with Raonic right now. If he can continue to play a complete game in Memphis (where he has a difficult draw), he’ll feel unstoppable going into Indian Wells.
In order to beat Roger Federer, Rafel Nadal, Andy Murray and Novak Djokovic, Raonic needs to feel just that: unstoppable.

Doubters tend to forget that Raonic has beaten Murray and he’s nearly beaten Federer. He’s fully capable of beating these players when he’s playing his best, but it’s not easy. The top players are there for a reason — they can win week in and week out even when they’re not playing their best. That’s what Raonic is aiming for — not only to beat them, but to be as consistent as they are. He’s getting there.

Raonic is right on the edge. He’s on the edge of being a solid player who can win 250 and 500 level tournaments like he did in San Jose, to becoming a player who can go deep into the Masters events and even the Grand Slams.

It’s not a matter of ‘if’ Raonic can do better, it’s just a matter of ‘when’ he’ll cross over and become that star player.

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Raonic successfully defends SAP Open title

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

SAN JOSE, Calif. — Canada’s Milos Raonic has served notice: He’s healthy again and one of the most unstoppable forces in tennis is back.

Raonic captured a second straight SAP Open championship Sunday behind a powerful serve nobody in San Jose could solve, rolling past Denis Istomin of Uzbekistan 7-6 (3), 6-2 in the finals.

Raonic ripped seven aces and lost only four points on his serve the entire match, turning the tournament into a serving exhibition in the climate-controlled conditions of an indoor arena.

The six-foot-five Thornhill, Ont., native has dropped only two service games in two years in San Jose.

"This really just for myself, I think, puts a lot of the injury thing behind me but also for a lot of other people," said Raonic, whose rapid rise stalled last year following hip surgery in July. "I’m back and playing better tennis than ever before."

Look out.

After a slip on Wimbledon’s grass last year slowed his surge, Raonic is rising rapidly again. The 21-year-old, who also had to be replaced last week in Canada’s loss to France in the Davis Cup because of a left knee injury, began the tournament ranked 32nd and will head to Memphis next week as one of the favourites.

Raonic relied on his powerful, penetrating serve to again punish his opponent.

He won 44-of-48 points on his serve in the final and has won 83-of-85 service games in two years at the tournament. In the serene surroundings of an NHL arena, Raonic roared in the final.

Raonic unleashed a 241 kilometres per hour ace past Istomin at the start of the sixth game that drew stunned roars from the crowd. Istomin challenged the point — perhaps in part to try to shake up his opponent — on a ball that clearly landed inside the line, even chuckling as he watched the video screen while setting up for the next point.

"I didn’t see it at all," Istomin said, laughing. "That’s why I challenged it."

That’s about all he could do.

After neither player could break the other, Raonic rested on his serve in a first-set tiebreaker. He fired a backhand return right at Istomin, forcing his lanky opponent to backpedal into a miss, and followed with a forehand approach for a winner to go ahead 5-1 in the breaker.

Istomin had little room for error.

He flicked a forehand into the net and sailed a baseline backhand long to fall behind 3-1 in the second set and never had so much as a break point. Raonic pounced on Istomin again to force a backhand long and then a forehand into the net on match point, looking to the rafters and raising his hands in triumph while Istomin simply smirked.

"I think last year I was a lot more unaware of what was really going on," Raonic said. "This year, I have a lot higher expectations. I know how to prepare, I know how to deal with things and I feel like I’m a much better tennis player than I was last year."

The results show.

A year ago, Raonic became the first Canadian to win an ATP Tour title since Greg Rusedski won in South Korea in 1995. Now he has three career singles titles — and is the first two-time winner on the tour this year after winning in India earlier this month — and is again making a name for himself on the circuit.

Raonic joins Andy Murray (2006-07), Andy Roddick (2004-05), Mark Philippoussis (1999-2000) and Pete Sampras (1996-97) — whose serve Raonic mimicked as a kid in Canada — as recent back-to-back champions in San Jose. He took home the winner’s cheque for US$95,860, while Istomin won $50,485.

In doubles, Mark Knowles and Xavier Malisse beat Kevin Anderson and Frank Moser 6-4, 1-6, 10-5 (tiebreaker) in the finals. It was Knowles’ 55th career doubles title in his 99th final.

But all the attention remained on the young man with a bright yellow shirt and a wicked serve on court.

Raonic rose to as high as No. 25 in the rankings last year — the highest ever for a Canadian — before his season derailed with a slip on Wimbledon’s grass. He had hip surgery in July that sliced his season short, still earning ATP Newcomer of the Year honours after such a stirring start.

The Bay Area also has been kind to other Canadian athletes in recent years.

Aleksandra Wozniak of Blainville, Que., ended a 20-year title drought for Canadian women when she won at Stanford in 2008. And Raonic ended the streak on the men’s side last year in the same building where fellow Canadians such as Joe Thornton, Patrick Marleau, and Dan Boyle star for the NHL’s San Jose Sharks.

"If the real estate wasn’t so expensive here," Raonic said, "maybe I’d buy a place."

A few more wins and he might be able to afford a house anywhere he wants.