Is it time to start taking Milos Raonic seriously (again)?

[El Dude]

It seems that Milos' reputation, at least on message boards, has risen and fallen rapidly. About a year ago he was the player that no one wanted to face in the early rounds of a tournament. But since then it has come to seem that his bark (big power game) was worse than his bite (actual results on the court). He did finish 2012 at #13, up from #31 in 2011, but he didn't make it into the second week of any Slam and to the 4R only once, and didn't make it past the QF at any ATP 1000s.

Then, when Jerzy Janowicz burst on the scene in the Paris Masters, he took some of the "Young Gun" limelight. From a certain angle Raonic had an overall disappointing 2013 in that he didn't seem to improve upon his 2012 performance, holding steady in the mid-teens in the rankings. Meanwhile, Jerzy made a run at Wimbledon, making it to the SF.

But Milos snuck up on us again, making it to the Final of the Canada Masters, but was slaughtered by Rafael Nadal, 6-2, 6-2. He followed with a 3R exit in Cincinnati, and received a lot of criticism for his one-dimensional game and seeming lack of fire, not to mention "Netgate" in Canada.

Yet while Jerzy Janowicz lost in the 1R at the US Open, here Milos is again, defeating Feliciano Lopez to make the 4R where he'll either face Richard Gasquet or Dmitry Tursonov. Gasquet will be an interesting challenge for him, for the Frenchmen is in a way the gatekeeper to the near-elites of the game. Gasquet has lost in the 4R of seven out of the last nine Slams and is arguably the best player in the game outside of the Biggish Eight (although Haas and Raonic might argue with that).

If Milos can beat Gasquet, it might signal that he's ready to vie for a spot in the "near elite" circle along with Tsonga, Berdych, Ferrer, and Del Potro. In a way his upside might be similar to Tsonga and Berdych in that like those two he has a big game but also big weaknesses.

So what do you think? Is Milos on the cusp of breaking through to the top 10, at least? Can he hang with Berdych and Tsonga and vie for the #6 ranking at some point soon? Or is he going to remain in the mix with Gasquet, Isner, Haas, and others in the "third tier", circling for a spot in the top 10?

 

[Didi]

Good points. I think it depends on the outcome of the US Open. I thought today he played very well against Feliciano who's always a tough customer on the NYC hardcourts, just ask Andy Murray. In fact today's performance might have been the best I've ever seen from Raonic. He served and moved extremely well, nice touch at the net and very good approach shots. If he makes it past Gasquet and then Ferrer/Tipsa to reach his first ever grand slam semifinals, it might put him out of the bad light and cement his place as a worthy top 10 player. Another important step into the right direction is also the fact that he paced himself very well this summer as opposed to Isner who looked physically dead out there vs. Kohlschreiber due to having played basically all summer long.

People won't forget about 'Netgate' (great idea nickname by the way ) but people can forgive and they will if they see that he makes progress, not only as a human being and a personality, but also as a player. At the end of the day, all we want are new faces rising and challenge the elite. You get the feeling these days that Djokovic, Nadal, Murray, Federer, Ferrer, Tsonga, Del Potro and Berdych have been the top 8 since Jesus of Nazareth. Dear lord, it's about time someone cracks the establishment.

 

[Murat Baslamisli]

I did not see the Lopez match but the previous one was the best I have seen him play in almost 2 years...He is moving better, DTL backhand has improved. Net game is improving and most importantly, he is returning better. Serve and forehand are his bread and butter and they are solid. Fitness needs to improve. I think the Lube project is working...

He said he talked to Delpo and his team and apologized. He said he just did not know how to handle the situation and made a bad judgement call. Since it is not a trend, I would move on.

I think he can be a solid top tenner , but anything beyond that needs more fitness and consistency.

 

[brokenshoelace]

Well, assuming "taking him seriously" means as a potentially elite player, I think his main problem is that he's just not threatening the big boys when he plays them. He's definitely a good player, who right now, has already proven he can sit comfortably in that 15-10 position, but I've yet to see him take a leap into something more.

I still think there are many flaws to his game that will prevent him from ever becoming a consistent top 5 player.

 

[nehmeth]

Some took him seriously last year and many did not. With his poor movement and rather one dimensional play I doubt that he will be more than a dark horse in a slam. I do think he will win a Masters title here and there, we'll see.

 

[britbox]

Some took him seriously last year and many did not. With his poor movement and rather one dimensional play I doubt that he will be more than a dark horse in a slam. I do think he will win a Masters title here and there, we'll see.

Agreed. He doesn't move well enough to be truly elite (ie Top 5) .

 

[Front242]

Bad mover and absolutely terrible from the baseline, which lets face it is where most tennis is played from in this era. Lucky to get to top 10 imo. And only got there by way of dirty play against Del Potro.