Tennis This And That

Written by: Bob Larson Tennis on 1st November 2013

Tennis This And That

epa03895200 Milos Raonic of Canada celebrates after winning a point against Lukas Lacko of Slovakia during their quarterfinal match at the Japan Open Tennis Championships in Tokyo, Japan, 04 October 2013. EPA/KIYOSHI OTA |

Raonic Almost Qualified For ATP Final Event

Milos Raonic had a near-miss with tennis history but was unable to capitalize on his chance of becoming the first Canadian to play in the year-end ATP event in singles. The 22-year-old lost for the first time in three matches to Tomas Berdych – the Czech has already qualified for next week’s World Tour Finals in London – and therefore missed out on the chance to punch his ticket to the season wrap-up.

Nevertheless, Raonic will still reap a generous payday by going as second alternate at the O2 arena behind Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga. Canadians have played a major role in doubles at the finals, with Daniel Nestor making multiple appearances.

“I didn’t have any pressure thinking about London,” said Raonic after exiting in the Paris Masters third round with 18 aces. “I actually didn’t think about it until I stepped off the court, It was not a part of my mental process. The two guys who made London (Stanislas Wawrinka and Richard Gasquet) deserved it. I had a match point against Gasquet at the US Open, maybe things would be different now if I had won that one. But I can’t really say I’m disappointed. “I see how close I came, I know I can improve a lot more.”

The Canadian said that a mid-season swoon before changing coaches from Galo Blanco to Ivan Ljubicic did not help his cause. But he remains optimistic that he’s on the right track with his game. “The reason I’m not in London is not because of the last few weeks, it’s because of the first five to seven months of the year, when I played poorly at one point.

“There’s not too much to be disappointed with, I improved a lot at the later stages of the season. I’m trying to focus on the right things and playing in the right way. I’ll have opportunities to contend for bigger moments and bigger events.”

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Dokic Is Trying Another Comeback

Former Australian teenaged hope Jelena Dokic, now trying another comeback at age 30 after more than a decade of personal and professional bad luck in the form or near continual injury worries, will take a tentative step back into tennis within weeks.

The Serb-born player will be on board as a substitute at the Hopman Cup mixed team event in Perth, western Australia, from late December when the eight-team international competition kicks off. While not picked for the squad, Dokic will be around the grounds at the Perth arena in case of any injury – a guaranteed part of any Hopman week.

At the last edition, John Isner and German Andrea Petkovic both limped out, unable to play, so having a few spare players on hand is essential.

During the 2013 first edition under Tennis Australia management, the spares were overlooked, forcing a last-minute search across Australia for Isner’s eventual replacement, Aussie Thanasi Kokkinakis, who was flown in overnight from the East coast in order to make it to the court.

Dokic is trying to regain her form under the supervision of Tennis Australia’s Todd Woodbridge as she works to get back into professional training mode. “I feel in very good shape physically. I don’t feel like I’m getting weaker or older, so as long as I feel like that and as long as I feel like I want to get up every morning and train, I will do it,” she told Australian media.

Dokic said she’s not expecting any miracles: “I don’t think it’s going to come back after two months of training, it’s impossible. But I have a whole lot of experience, not even just from my tennis, just from my life in general. I’m so happy that I’ve had the good and the bad, you’ve got to go through everything.”

Topics: 10sballs, Atp, Daniel Nestor, Jelena Dokic, Jo Wilfried Tsonga, milos raonic, Richard Gasquet, Sports, Stanislas Wawrinka, Tennis, Tennis News, Tomas Berdych