MILOS RAONIC NAMED 2014 CANADIAN PRESS MALE ATHLETE OF THE YEAR

Written by: Staff on 26th December 2014

BNP Paribas 2014 Masters Tennis Tournament

MILOS RAONIC NAMED 2014 CANADIAN PRESS MALE ATHLETE OF THE YEAR

epa04470290 Milos Raonic of Canada returns the ball to Roberto Bautista Agut of Spain during his round of sixteen match at the BNP Paribas 2014 Masters tennis tournament in Paris, France, 30 October 2014. EPA/YOAN VALAT |

MILOS RAONIC NAMED CANADIAN PRESS MALE ATHLETE OF THE YEAR FOR SECOND STRAIGHT YEAR

Canadian tennis star Milos Raonic set three main goals at the start of the 2014 season.

He wanted to reach the top six in the world rankings, go deeper in Grand Slam events and qualify for the ATP Finals. Raonic hit all those targets over a campaign highlighted by a semifinal appearance at Wimbledon and his first World Tour 500-level event victory.

He capped his season Friday by winning the Lionel Conacher Award for the second year in a row. The honour is awarded annually to the Canadian Press male athlete of the year.

Raonic became the first Canadian to reach a Grand Slam men’s singles semifinal in the Open era. He fell to Roger Federer in straight sets at the All England Club but later gained revenge with his first career victory over the Swiss star at the Paris Masters.

That win helped Raonic qualify for the season-ending tournament in London for the first time. He finished the season ranked eighth in the world and posted a 49-20 record on the year.

“I did achieve the goals that I specified but I always have this yearning for more, more, more,” Raonic said in a phone interview after a recent training session in Monte Carlo. “It doesn’t matter how much I do, I always want more — especially when it comes to my tennis.”

Before Raonic, the last Canadian to reach a men’s singles semifinal at a major was Robert Powell at Wimbledon in 1908, according to Tennis Canada. Montreal native Greg Rusedski reached the U.S. Open final in 1997 but he was representing Britain at the time.

Milos Raonic of Canada celebrates his victory against Roger Federer of Switzerland during their quarter final match at the BNP Paribas 2014 Masters tennis tournament in Paris, France, 31 October 2014. EPA/IAN LANGSDON

Raonic said he has been getting stronger mentally and it helped him get results throughout the 2014 campaign. He made progress at the Grand Slam and Masters Series events and also improved his game on clay and grass surfaces.

“It’s hard as an athlete to really be playing your best throughout the whole year and I was able to consistently play well in the big tournaments,” he said.

Raonic finished with 29 of the 82 votes (35 per cent) in balloting of sports editors and broadcasters across the country. Los Angeles Kings defenceman Drew Doughty was second with 19 votes (23 per cent).

Doughty won Olympic hockey gold at the Sochi Games and added a Stanley Cup title with the Kings a few months later. Freestyle skier Alex Bilodeau, who successfully defended his Olympic title in men’s moguls, was third with 14 votes (17 per cent).

Raonic is the first athlete to win back-to-back Conacher titles since hockey superstar Sidney Crosby (2009-’10). Other recent repeat winners include basketball player Steve Nash (2005-’06) and golfer Mike Weir (2000-’01).

Hockey legend Wayne Gretzky holds the record for consecutive Conacher wins with four (1980-’83).

“To be in that group of back-to-back winners of the Conacher Award is really something special,” Raonic said. “It’s guys I looked up to and guys, if you ask me, that I feel are the biggest Canadian sporting icons — at least the generations that I know.”

The award is named after the multi-sport athlete who was chosen Canada’s athlete of the half-century in 1950. The winner of the Bobbie Rosenfeld Award as Canada’s female athlete of the year will be announced Sunday and the team of the year will be named Monday.

Raonic, from Thornhill, Ont., is the only tennis player to win the award, which dates back to 1932.

He ended an 11-month title drought last August with a victory over fellow Canadian Vasek Pospisil in Washington. The win came shortly after he reached a career-high No. 6 in the world rankings.

Raonic also made the quarter-finals at the French Open, the semifinals in Rome and Cincinnati and the finals in Tokyo and Paris.

“Top Canadian male tennis performance of all-time,” said Postmedia national sports editor Jack Romanelli.

Raonic also achieved a breakthrough by defeating a member of the so-called Big Three (Federer, Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic) for the first time in 15 matches. He beat Federer in the Paris quarter-finals in October, a win that also helped him qualify for the year-end London tournament.

“I wanted to try to put (the Wimbledon loss) behind me and play a much better match, which I was able to do,” Raonic said. “So I would say it’s probably the single-most important victory for me in 2014.”

The Canadian, who will celebrate his 24th birthday Saturday, has worked with coach Ivan Ljubicic for over a year now. The former world No. 3 has helped polish several facets of Raonic’s game.

“I will not set the limit for Milos,” Ljubicic said via email. “He can still improve in every aspect, including his serve which could be the biggest shot in the game at the moment. His will to be better every day is unparalleled and will drive him to more success in the future.”

The six-foot-five Raonic has always relied on his booming serve. However, his backhand, net play and return game have all improved in recent months.

“His weapons are really weapons of mass destruction,” Canadian Davis Cup captain Martin Laurendeau said from Toronto. “He kind of just lives with his weaknesses, he accepts them and he’s just so confident that his weapons are going to be good enough to win every single match. He deserves a lot of credit that way.”

Raonic earned almost US$3.5 million in prize money over the season, which ended on a down note as he had to pull out of the World Tour Finals with a thigh injury. He took about two weeks off and is now back to 100 per cent.

Raonic hasn’t set specific goals for the 2015 season but plans to aim higher than he did a year ago.

“That leaves some room for imagination,” he said. “But I feel that I can do a lot of big things this upcoming year and I hope that I can more seriously contend for my first Grand Slam and really give myself a go at that.

“That would be the most important thing for me.”

Milos Raonic élu l’athlète de l’année 2014 de la Presse Canadienne

TORONTO, La Presse Canadienne –Le tennisman étoile Milos Raonic s’était fixé trois objectifs principaux avant le début de la saison 2014.

Il voulait se hisser parmi les six premiers joueurs mondiaux, s’approcher du titre dans les tournois du Grand Chelem et se qualifier pour les finales de l’ATP. Raonic a atteint tous ses objectifs en cours de route, participant notamment aux demi-finales du tournoi de Wimbledon et remportant son premier titre du circuit mondial de l’ATP.

Il a couronné sa saison vendredi en obtenant le trophée Lionel Conacher pour une deuxième année de suite. Ce titre est octroyé annuellement par La Presse Canadienne à l’athlète masculin par excellence.

Raonic est devenu le premier Canadien de l’ère moderne à atteindre les demi-finales d’un tournoi du Grand Chelem. Il s’est incliné devant Roger Federer en sets consécutifs au All England Club, mais a éventuellement pris sa revanche en savourant sa première victoire en carrière aux dépens du Suisse au Masters de Paris.

Ç’a permis à Raonic de se qualifier pour la première fois de sa carrière pour le tournoi de fin de saison présenté à Londres. Il a terminé la campagne au huitième échelon mondial, après avoir compilé une fiche de 49-20.

«J’ai atteint les objectifs que je m’étais fixés, mais j’ai toujours l’ambition de faire mieux, beaucoup mieux, a commenté Raonic à l’issue d’une récente séance d’entraînement à Monte Carlo. Peu importe ce que je fais, je veux toujours le faire mieux — particulièrement au tennis.»

Avant Raonic, le dernier Canadien à avoir atteint les demi-finales d’un tournoi majeur masculin fut Robert Powell à Wimbledon en 1908, selon Tennis Canada. Le Montréalais Greg Rusedski avait atteint la finale des Internationaux des États-Unis en 1997, mais il représentait la Grande-Bretagne à l’époque.

Milos Raonic of Canada reacts after winning the third set during his match against Kei Nishikori of Japan during the eighth day of the 2014 US Open Tennis Championship at the USTA National Tennis Center in Flushing Meadows, New York, USA, 01 September 2014. The US Open runs through 08 September, a 15-day schedule. EPA/JASON SZENES

Raonic a indiqué qu’il s’était endurci mentalement, et que ça lui avait permis d’obtenir de meilleurs résultats en 2014. Il a progressé dans les tournois du Grand Chelem ainsi que dans les tournois de la série Masters. Son jeu s’est également amélioré sur la terre battue et le gazon.

«C’est difficile comme athlète d’être au sommet de sa forme pendant une saison complète, mais j’ai été en mesure de bien jouer dans chacun des gros tournois», a-t-il rappelé.

Raonic a remporté 29 des 82 voix (35 pour cent) au scrutin réunissant les rédacteurs sportifs et les diffuseurs à travers le pays. Le défenseur des Kings de Los Angeles Drew Doughty a abouti au deuxième rang avec 19 voix (23 pour cent).

«Milos poursuit son ascension parmi les meilleurs joueurs de tennis au monde», a commenté Marc Brassard, du Droit d’Ottawa.

«Dans le top-10 au monde!!! Que dire de plus?», a renchéri Christine Roger, de Yahoo! Sports.

Doughty a gagné la médaille d’or en hockey masculin aux Jeux olympiques de Sotchi et a soulevé la coupe Stanley avec les Kings quelques mois plus tard. Le skieur acrobatique Alexandre Bilodeau, qui a défendu avec succès son titre olympique en ski de bosses, a terminé troisième avec 14 votes (17 pour cent).

Raonic est le premier athlète à obtenir le trophée Conacher deux années de suite depuis le hockeyeur étoile Sidney Crosby (2009-10). Le joueur de basketball Steve Nash (2005-06) et le golfeur Mike Weir (2000-’01) ont aussi accompli cet exploit récemment.

Le légendaire hockeyeur Wayne Gretzky détient toujours le record avec quatre conquêtes consécutives entre 1980 et 1983.

«C’est vraiment spécial de faire partie de ceux qui ont gagné le trophée Conacher deux fois de suite, a admis Raonic. Ce sont des gars qui ont été des modèles et des gars, si vous voulez mon opinion, qui sont les plus grands icônes sportifs canadiens — du moins pour ma génération.»

Le trophée a été nommé d’après l’athlète polyvalent qui a été sélectionné comme athlète canadien de la première moitié du siècle dernier. La gagnante du trophée Bobbie Rosenfeld remis à l’athlète féminine de l’année au Canada sera dévoilée dimanche, et l’équipe de l’année sera annoncée lundi.

Raonic, de Thornhill, en Ontario, est le seul joueur de tennis à avoir mérité cet honneur, qui est octroyé depuis 1932.

Topics: Atp, milos raonic, Tennis, Tennis Canada

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December 26, 2014 at 9:36 am

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