By: Elena Scuro Photo Credit: AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez
Canadian Milos Raonic burst onto the scene last January making it through Australian Open qualifying and then scoring a few upsets before reaching the fourth round. Prior to his breakthrough, Raonic spent most of his time on the Challenger and Futures Tours. Now you can find him in the top 40 in the world and with three titles to his name, and counting. Here’s a little bit you may not know about him:
1. He’s True To Canada: Despite not being born in Canada (Raonic was born in what is now Podgorica, Montenegro and moved to Canada with his family when he was three years old), he has remained loyal to his Canadian ties. “It’s important to me to defend the Canadian colors. And I don’t just do it in tennis. I might not follow hockey as much as the average Canadian, but I support several Canadian teams,” he said. “Basically, it’s a country with a lot of great things. And so yes, I’m proud to be Canadian.”
2. Summer Camp Was His Start: Raonic has said he got his start in tennis at summer camp when he was eight years old. “A coach said to me, Please don't give up the sport,” he said. Later his father found a place for him to play and he got his recreational start at first that then “led to something a lot bigger. That's why I'm here today,” he said.
3. No Reality... Yet: At the 2011 Australian Open, Raonic was told he had been compared to Mark Philippousis. He said, “I was a big fan of him. I followed throughout his career, most of his career. That's a really good comparison to have.” But when asked if he had plans for a reality dating show, he said “No, not yet. Maybe after tennis.”
4. Home Is Where The Hockey Is: Raonic ironically won his first title last year at the San Jose Open (defeating Fernando Verdasco in the final), played at the HP Pavilion arena which also serves as the home of the NHL San Jose Sharks. Despite being Canadian though, Raonic has said "I am not the biggest hockey fan but it definitely makes me feel like I am at home.”
5. His Idol Is Pistol Pete: Raonic is very open about the fact that Pete Sampras was his idol growing up, and their similarities are uncanny. Raonic was able to meet him for the first time in San Jose last year and described the moment as “surreal,” saying “It was nice to connect the man to the game that I watched for so many hours. I taped most of his matches and watched them over and over again. If he was playing in Melbourne, my parents would let me stay up. Sampras was the person to study, the model to learn from. It's something else meeting someone you've always looked up to.”
6. He Has Connections: Last summer, Raonic was asked how his life had changed since his rise in the rankings. He said there have been more perks and opportunities. He said, “For example, Drake is playing here in Toronto tonight, and I called this morning because I didn’t have a ticket and I got one.”
7. He Stays Calm: At this year’s Australian Open, Raonic was asked for his thoughts on breaking racquets on court. He said “I have 10 racquets. I need to play with 10 racquets. I don't have any to break.”
8. Milos On The Money: Raonic says studying is one of his hobbies, specifically finance.
9. There’s A Song About Him: Last year, some young Canadians wrote a song about Raonic and how he’s “revolutionized tennis in Canada,” made a video for it and posted it to YouTube. When asked if he had heard the song, Raonic said “I think it's pretty sweet and nice, especially considering it was a school project actually. Even got the e-mail of one of the kids and sort of sent them thank you for it, because I think it was good on their part.” He added, “But I hope for the kids that they got a good mark on their assignment or maybe the teacher doesn't think I was one of the big things to change in that last week in Canada.”
10. More To Come: One area where Raonic can improve is in the Grand Slams. Since turning pro three years ago, he has never made it past the fourth round of a major. He also hasn’t broken into the top 20... yet. With room to improve, there’s room for success.