All eyes are on Thornhill’s Milos Raonic after the 20-year-old tennis star secured a spot in the world’s top 100 in men’s singles with early victories at the Australian Open. He caused surprise upsets in the second and third rounds, handily defeating the 22nd and 10th seeded players. Going into the competition Down Under, Canada’s top player was ranked 152.
Standing at six feet five inches, Raonic has a fast and powerful serve. He notched 31 aces in his third-round match against Mikhail Youzhny.
Casey Curtis, who coached Raonic from the age of nine up until 17, said everyone at Blackmore Tennis Club in Richmond Hill is excitedly following the young tennis player’s career.
“His ascension up through the ranks has just been spectacular, really,” said Curtis. “I would think it’s one of the fastest in history.”
From Australia, Raonic thanked everyone back home for their support.
“My game is coming together, and I feel like I’m on my way to reaching my goals and playing the level I want to play,” he said.
Raonic is the first Canadian to make it this far in a Grand Slam event in more than a decade. He lost to the seventh seeded David Ferrer in the fourth round.