Milos and Jerzy
Tennis is a funny sport. At Wimbledon, Poland’s Jerzy Janowwicz was the toast of the sport. He bludgeoned his way to the final four and had a few chances versus eventual champion Andy Murray. I even recall a tweet from a major tennis writer stating something along the lines that Janowicz was what people hoped Milos Raonic would be. Jerzy’s grand slam semifinal certainly backed up his Masters 1000 runner-up from late 2012. After a hard court summer that saw Janowicz play a competent match versus Rafael Nadal in Montreal and then flame out in Cincinnati and New York, Jerzy has a few people jumping ship.* Both men are 22 years old, are tall and strong, and are eventually going to have to challenge a group of players 4-5 years older than them who are flat out nasty. The post-Wimbledon tennis season has seen Milos’ stock rise. He reached his first ever Masters 1000 semifinal in Canada. He played reasonably well in Cincinnati. He then reached the US Open round of 16 losing a tight five set match to Richard Gasquet.
These results alone were promising but were not a breakthrough for Raonic. Winning a road Davis Cup match 10-8 in the fifth set shortly after letting a match point slip away vs. Gasquet demonstrates growth. Milos beating Janko Tipsarevic 5-7, 6-3, 3-6, 6-3, 10-8 is not the same thing as beating Murray, Djokoic or Nadal in a 5 set showdown. Still, it was a pressure packed situation as Canada already trailed 1-0 in matches. Tipsy led 1 set to love and 2 sets to 1. Raonic could have folded especially considering the surface change to clay from hard courts and the Serbian home court advantage. Winning this match took character from Raonic. He likely proved a lot to himself.
I think if Raonic is going to have challenge the 26 and 27 year olds at the top of the rankings, he will need to serve better. He will need to be more consistent with his serve, he will need to have a Sampras-like mentality of hitting his spots and knowing if he does his opponent likely can’t break him. Beyond that Milos will need to improve his mobility, his stamina and shore up various weak spots in his game. Still, self-belief is a major hurdle and a 10-8 win in the 5th set on the road coming right after one of the better stretches of his career means Milos should see himself as a top 10 player with a bright future. The indoor swing of 2013 should allow Milos to continue to build momentum. Good players take advantage of opportunities, and in December we’ll have an idea on how good Milos is right now.
* For the record, I think Jerzy’s athleticism, size and mean streak make him a good bet for the future if he can come to terms with being an elite player. 
Tennis Abides: Dan Martin on Tennis and Life 
I think Raonic has less upside than Jerzy, but his being the closest thing to a legit N. American contender understandably gives him a bit more press than the growling Pole. Both have the kind of games which could conceivably see them out of the Top 50 in a few years’ time too, but I see Raonic settling in the 8 to 20 range and Jerzy maybe in the 5 to 12, with a sliver of a chance to go higher still should be prove to have the mental fortitude to string together big tournaments.
I agree that Jerzy has more upside. I also agree that either or both could crash. There always seems to be a group of 5-8 players who could be the next top guys but only a couple actually make it.
Eventually someone has to take over and start winning slams,the current four can’t keep winning everything forever, it is hard to see outside them though
Yeah, it is a monopoly at the moment. I keep wondering where is the next Hewitt. Not someone who has the talent to be an all-time great, but a young player who fights, who is quick and fit. It used to be every 3-5 years a clay court player or two would rise up to at least challenge the established order. Where is the next baseline or counterpunching beast? Jerzy and Milos are not that type of player.
I had discussed this with a wonderful poster on my blog last month…. while discussing “The future of sport and youngsters who will make an impact”
“That is a wonderful topic on so many levels. Talking about the future, about youngsters delivering on promise and so on and so forth. My personal favorite among the youngsters, is Dimitrov – I am a huge fan of single-handed backhand and I hope Dimitrov can keep the shbh alive. Do you know that in the last 10 years, only one player other than Roger won a GS with a shbh? Gaston Gaudio.
Now who do I think will rule the roost among the crop as an aspiring Sports Analyst and as an experienced Business/Strategic Analyst? My 2nd favorite, Jerzy! I think this will be the next greatest rivalry, Jerzy-Dimitrov. Ofcourse I see Raonic getting there too. I like the attitude Goffin got too – very much like the hewitt/chang mould. Grinders in a sport where 6-1 or 6-2 seems to be the champion height! [Sampras, Fed, Nadal, Djokovic]
And ofcourse there are other players like Jack Sock, Ryan Harrison et al. Do I think this generation will be as great as the present generation? I definitely think so – I believe in the evolution and growth of humans into superior beings with every passing generation – on all fronts. The real question is do these young guys have the faith in themselves that a lot of tennis/sports fans like ourselves have in them?
11 years back I believed a pony-tailed player will win 18slams. He has not let me down. 9 years back I believed a super-energetic kiddo will throw everything and the kitchen-sink at the said pony-tailed guy. He did not let me down either. At the same time, there was this child prodigy from France who had a most divine SHBH and I believed he will be competing with the above said super-energetic kiddo. I won’t say he let me down – no one with such a Divine shot can let others down. I will only say I expected too much of Richard Gasquet, who I still love watching. 🙂
I hope Dimitrov/Jerzy/Raonic et al get their acts together! Tennis/Sports deserve it 🙂 ”
I am glad Raonic is putting it together. Like Kimberly says, Big4 will not keep winning forever. Tennis is a young man’s game where 30 is retirement age, so…. just a matter of a year before 1 of these guys delivers big time. Reminds me of Federer’s breakthrough in 2003…. took a long time, but once it happened, there was no stopping him!