Raonic Likes Tomic’s Potential, And Canada Likes Raonic’s

Written by: Bob Larson Tennis on 27th December 2013

BNP Paribas 2013 Masters Tennis Tournament

Raonic Likes Tomic’s Potential, And Canada Likes Raonic’s

epa03930527 Milos Raonic of Canada serves the ball to Robin Haase of Netherlands, during their second round match at the BNP Paribas 2013 Masters tennis tournament in Paris, France, 30 October 2013. EPA/YOAN VALAT |

Canada’s Milos Raonic is the youngest member of the top 15 at the age of 22. The 11th ranked Canadian has top 5 goals and believes that he could someday be joined by the 21-year-old Bernard Tomic of Australia, who has seen his ranking drop to No. 51.

The two will play each other on Saturday when Canada faces Australia on day one at the Hopman Cup in Perth.

“Knowing Bernie and what he’s capable of and how talented he is, I think he can go very far,” Raonic said. “But it’s all about improving. You can’t focus on the moment right now. You have to look at the big picture and make sure every week, every month and every year you’re getting better. People say to me my serve can get me there, but you’ve got to keep developing.”

Two-time calendar-year Grand Slam winner Rod Laver not only likes Tomic’s upside, but Raonic’s too. The Canadian is working with a fairly new coach, Ivan Ljubicic, who is helping him become a smarter player who understands his strengths and weaknesses.

Raonic became the first Canadian male player to enter the top 10 in history last summer.

“I think Nadal and Djokovic will have it between them for the next few years, but Raonic from Canada is a very important part of things and has improved out of sight since he got a new coach and a new-found game,” Laver said. “He’s going to be tough to beat. In two or three years he’s going to be a force among the very top players.”

Raonic was presented with a big post-Christmas present on Thursday when he won the 2013 Lionel Conacher Award as the 2013 Canadian Press male athlete of the year.

The Conacher award is named after the multi-sport athlete who was chosen Canada’s athlete of the first half-century. Raonic finished with 45 percent of the vote in balloting of sports editors and broadcasters across the country. Calgary Stampede’s running back Jon Cornish was well back at 22 percent, followed by golfer Graham DeLaet (13 percent) and figure skater Patrick Chan (eight percent).

“Raonic had the most successful year in the history of Canadian tennis and his outstanding performance in the Davis Cup played a leading role in the country’s semifinal appearance,” said Yahoo Canada’s Steve McAllister. “Raonic’s climb up the ATP Tour rankings happens in an era that features more depth than ever before.”

Topics: 10sballs.com, Atp, Australia, Bernard Tomic, Canada, Grand Slam, Hopman Cup, Lionel Conacher Award, milos raonic, Novak Djokovic, Perth, Rafael Nadal, Rod Laver, Tennis, Tennis News