Milos Raonic gets barely gets a passing grade for what he did during the clay court season. However the Canadian looks dangerous heading into the grass court season.
Milos Raonic earned himself the nickname "Rampagin' Raonic" for what the 20 year old accomplished during the early parts of 2011.
Of note Raonic made the fourth round of the Australian Open, he won ATP San Jose outright, and he made the final of ATP Memphis.
However those tournaments were all played on the hard court surface and Raonic's primary weapon is his big serve, a weapon that is favored on the hard courts. But much like a lot of big servers from the past, the clay court season saw the Canadian lose some momentum.
Raonic started his first clay court season decently as he earned seven victories at Monte Carlo, Barcelona, and Estoril combined however the Canadian went 0-3 in Madrid, Rome, and Roland Garros. The French Open loss was the most disappointing as Michael Berrer, a total underachiever in Grand Slams, dismissed Raonic in a first round four setter.
My assessment of Raonic's chances during the 2011 clay court season included the following statement:
"Players that he can beat on the hard court surface, like Fernando Verdasco, won't be watching aces go by on the clay court surface and that takes away a major strength of the Canadian's."
In two matches during the recently completed clay court season, Raonic had two losses to Verdasco and the Canadian's five aces in one of the matches was nothing compared to the thirteen Raonic served up in the San Jose final earlier this year.
From the same article that was written on April 7th entitled "Milos Raonic - Clay Court Season, Monte Carlo Preview":
"On the plus side, there should be wins for Raonic in the early rounds of tournaments as he will be a seeded player. But look for him to have a losing record on clay by the time the grass court season comes around.
Then look for Raonic to do some damage on the grass court tournaments in England or Germany as that surface does favor hard servers like Raonic, Roddick, and Ivo Karlovic.
Furthermore, when the grass court season rolls around Raonic should be better rested than a lot of other players as he probably won't be playing many matches in Monte Carlo, Rome, Madrid, Barcelona, or Paris."
Raonic actually turned in a winning record on clay as he posted a 7-6 record, a performance that earns him a minimal passing grade in my opinion.
Raonic, currently ranked 28th, has no ranking points to defend in June or July of this season. He'll make his debut on Tuesday at ATP Halle in Germany against an inferior player in Pablo Andujar.
The expectations for Raonic should be for him to do a lot more damage on grass than he did on clay and he's good enough to make the final at ATP Halle as he shares a half with the slumping Tomas Berdych. As a stroke of luck, one of the other seeded players near Raonic in the Halle draw, Mikhail Youzhny, has withdrawn and been replaced by a lucky loser. Roger Federer, has also withdrawn and that gives Raonic a chance at taking the title down.
Raonic should aim for 7 or 8 wins in Halle and Wimbledon combined with a championship match appearance in Germany, if not a title, and a fourth round appearance at the All England Club, if not a quarterfinal appearance.
Those results would not only shoot his ranking up into the top 20 but the experience would be valuable for the 20 year old as he continues to develop into a title threat, clay courts aside.
