There's Something About Milos

I didn't want to. I didn't want to be the person that jumps on every bandwagon I see. I was determined to be the one person in the world who wasn't screaming and shouting OMG MILOS RAONIC FOR EMPEROR OF THE UNIVERSE! I was going to be the lone dissenter, the annoying cynic in the corner, the one that was determined it was all a fluke. In my mind, Milos Raonic was the second coming of Casey Dellacqua.

And then he had to go and win San Jose. Beating a top ten player in the final. (I mean, sure, it was Fernando Verdasco, but still.) And now I have to get on the bandwagon or risk being left behind.

Raonic has a singularly spectacular serve. I think Verdasco described him as having the body of a 12-year old... and then still firing down serves at 240km/h plus. Which is, like, a bit fast and stuff. But there are plenty of players with massive serves and not much else. This is the category I was determined to pigeonhole Raonic in.

But it looks like he's a bit more than that.

Problem is, I can't quite put my finger on it.

I think I'm going to have to watch him play a bit more, because there's obviously a little bit of something something going on with Milos. You don't jump from #156 to #59 in the rankings just like that because you have an enormous serve. I mean, he's obviously had an enormous serve for a while now. He might have grown into a bit, but there's just not enough time for there to be such a massive difference between 2010 and 2011. The off-season isn't long enough. Something's clicked for Milos. Something's suddenly started going right. I just can't work out what it is.

Maybe it's not his game at all. Maybe it's in his mind. Looking at the San Jose final, it certainly seems like Milos has quite a bit going on upstairs. We can't all be blessed with the iron mind of Rafael Nadal, but when you rally from 6-2 down in a breaker to grab a set, you are strong in the head. That's just the way it is. Your opponent can really only make so many mistakes.

And then there's the fact that Milos only dropped serve once in four matches. No matter how good your serve is, it's hard to hold your serve that consistently. Like, mega hard. Ask Isner and Mahut.

But has something come together in his game? What's the magic ingredient that I'm missing? Because it looks to me like the dude was losing a lot and now he's winning a lot... and I can't work out why. I must know the why. Because there is clearly something about Milos.

Sorry. Couldn't resist the wordplay. No matter how bad it is.

The Curious Case of the Dangerous Worm

Whoa. The Worm seems to have it all going on at the moment. He may not have made such a good showing at the Aussie Open, getting crushed four, love and love by Nando Verdasco, but he's been doing well in the subsidiary tournaments. A title in Brisbane and now one in San Jose - defeating two hometown boys, Roddick in the semis and Fish in the final, along the way.

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What is it with the Worm? I've watched him play a number of times and I still can't quite figure out what makes him such a dangerous player. Because he is a dangerous player, as his results will attest - but watching him play, I cannot tell what facet of his game is the one that makes him dangerous. Does he leech off the spirits of his WTA-girlfriends, both of whom have become rubbish since they dated him? Or has he been defeating people with the power of his picnic-blanket shirt? Maybe I will never know.

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Some good results overnight for a) one of my favourite players, Dmitry Tursunov, who won his opener in Marseille (correct me if I'm wrong, but has he won this title before?) and b) an Aussie, Chris Guccione, who qualified for Memphis and then won his first round match, knocking off local Vince Spadea. I'm perpetually disappointed in Guccione so it's nice to have a bit of a change!

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Though speaking of Aussies I am not currently disappointed in, Brydan Klein has made it two from two on the satellite circuit this year - he won a Challenger event last week, and this year has walked away with a Futures title from Mildura. Useful rankings points - watch this space!

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And, because I was too busy writing about how wonderful Rafa is yesterday, I forgot to give a proper shout out to one of my Stars, who had a great week. Thomaz Bellucci lost a close match in the final of Costa do Sauipe to Tommy Robredo - a great showing. As a result, he's jumped twenty places in the rankings. Nice on, Thomaz!

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Now when is Ernests Gulbis going to reach a final, hmm? (No pressure, Ernests.)

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Oh, and nice work to Ana Ivanovic for conquering an Aussie Open demon and beating Alisa Kleybanova. Still a long way to go, but it's nice to see her taking it a step at a time.

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Today's Results

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SAP Open (San Jose)

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Radek Stepanek def. Mardy Fish, 3-6 6-4 6-2

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Regions Morgan Keenan Championships (Memphis)

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Men's Draw

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Chris Guccione def. Vince Spadea, 7-6 (7-1) 7-6 (7-5)

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Women's Draw

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Lucie Safarova def. Melanie South, 6-2 6-2

Sabine Lisicki def. Ekaterina Bychkova, 6-3 6-3

Michaella Krajicek def. Alla Kudryavtseva, 6-1 6-4

Pauline Parmentier def. Julie Coin, 7-6 (8-6) 4-6 6-1

Stéphanie Cohen-Aloro def. Alexa Glatch, 6-3 6-3

Vania King def. Alexandra Stevenson, 6-2 7-6 (7-5)

Michelle Larcher de Brito def. Sofia Arvidsson, 6-2 6-0

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Copa Telmex (Buenos Aires)

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Brian Dabul def. Nicolas Devilder, 5-7 7-5 6-4

Juan Ignacio Chela def. Alberto Martin, 6-3 6-2

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Open 13 (Marseille)

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Dmitry Tursunov def. Teimuraz Gabashvili, 3-6 6-2 6-2

Jan Hernych def. Kristof Vliegen, 6-3 3-6 6-4

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Barclays Dubai Tennis Championships (Dubai)

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Elena Vesnina def. Svetlana Kuznetsova, 6-4 3-6 6-0

Ana Ivanovic def. Alisa Kleybanova, 7-5 6-4

Urszula Radwanska def. Agnieszka Radwanska, 6-4 6-3

Alizé Cornet def. Anna-Lena Groenefeld, 6-4 6-1

Marion Bartoli def. Ai Sugiyama, 6-0 4-6 7-6 (8-6)

Dominika Cibulkova def. Sorana Cirstea, 6-4 6-2

Anabel Medina Garrigues def. Andreja Klepac, 6-3 6-1

Ayumi Morita def. Anna Chakvetadze, 7-5 6-2

Alona Bondarenko def. Olga Govortsova, 6-4 6-3

Francesca Schiavone def. Casey Dellacqua, 6-1 6-1

Daniela Hantuchova def. Stefanie Voegele, 7-5 6-2

Samantha Stosur def. Magdalena Rybarikova, 6-4 6-3

Monica Niculescu def. Peng Shuai, 3-6 7-5 6-2

Virginie Razzano def. Kateryna Bondarenko, 7-5 6-2

Camille Pin def. Agnes Szavay, 2-6 6-2 6-3

Sania Mirza def. Ekaterina Makarova, 7-5 6-2

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Copa Sony Ericsson Colsanitas (Bogota)

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Edina Gallovits def. Barbora Zahlavova Strycova, 6-2 6-2

Petra Cetkovska def. Sandra Zahlavova, 7-5 6-2

Black and Blue?

Couple of interesting results overnight - not ground-breaking or anything, but interesting nonetheless. I would have paid a lot of money to have been able to see that match in Rotterdam between Rafa 'The Boss' Nadal and Jo-Dub Tsonga. It looked like a tight one - and thinking back to the semi of the Aussie Open in '08, it's a pretty good match up for Jo-Willy. I think I'm right in saying he'd rather play Rafa than Roger. He still lost, but he gave the Rafabot a good run for his money. I'd bet Rafa isn't in his scintillating Open form here, but still a challenge is a challenge. That one would have been interesting, I think.

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And then in San Jose, we have Mardy Fish not just challenging, but actually beating Juan Martin del Potro. And in pretty comprehensive fashion as well. Now, I would not have picked that one at all. I wouldn't have thought Mardy Fish was anything like a match for the big Argentine.

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People have talked a lot about what the loss to Nadal must have done to Federer's confidence after the Australian Open. But that was a five set match, and Federer could have won if he played better in the big moments. Has anyone stopped to think what must have happened to Juan Martin del Potro's confidence? I mean, sure, hello, quarter finals = great achievement, but can there be anything more crushing for a player than an absolute beatdown like that? We haven't a deconstruction like that quarter final. It was an absolute demolition job. And JM is supposed to the world #6. He's supposed to be close to guys ranked #2. Federer comprehensively showed that that wasn't the case.

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I think Federer is a special case - for him, the closely-fought epics (ie. the Aussie Open and Wimbledon) hurt more than the beatdowns (ie. Roland Garros). But for everyone else? You get beaten three, love and love, and your confidence is going to take a beating. This has got to be the first time in a while JM has lost to someone ranked significantly lower than him. Did he just have an off-day or is his confidence bruised black and blue?

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Today's Results

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ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament (Rotterdam)

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Rafael Nadal def. Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, 6-4 6-7 (5-7) 6-4

Andy Murray def. Marc Gicquel, 7-6 (7-2) 4-6 3-0 retired

Gael Monfils def. Julien Benneteau, 7-6 (7-4) 6-1

Mario Ancic def. Mikhail Youzhny, 6-4 6-2

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Brasil Open (Costa do Sauipe)

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Tommy Robredo def. Jose Acasuso, 6-2 6-1

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SAP Open (San Jose)

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Mardy Fish def. Juan Martin del Potro, 6-3 6-4

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Open GDF SUEZ (Paris)

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Serena Williams def. Emilie Loit, 6-4 6-1

Jelena Jankovic def. Alizé Cornet, 5-7 6-4 6-4

Elena Dementieva def. Nathalie Dechy, 6-3 6-2

Amélie Mauresmo def. Agnieszka Radwanska, 6-2 6-0

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PTT Pattaya Open (Pattaya City)

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Vera Zvonareva def. Peng Shuai, 6-2 6-3

Magdalena Rybarikova def. Caroline Wozniacki, 6-4 6-1

Sania Mirza def. Tamarine Tanasugarn, 7-5 6-4

Shahar Peer def. Vera Dushevina, 6-4 4-6 6-2