Analysis of the ATP's top prospects in 2013

2. Milos Raonic – 2013 Ranking 17

Ever since his breakout performance at the Australian Open in 2011, the big serving Canadian has been a consistent fixture in the top 16 in the world. And almost all of Roanic’s success has been down to that colossal serve. 2012 saw Milos serve more aces per match and win a higher percentage of service games than any other player on tour. The problem for him is that with the strength of the return game the way it is at the moment, Raonic’s best performance at a Grand Slam, the fourth round, is normally as far as he can go because he would normally run into a Djokovic, Murray or Ferrer whose returns are good enough to nullify his serve.

In order for Raonic to progress, he must improve his groundstroke consistency and movement so he can last with baseliners once the ball comes back. Like Janowicz, his massive height will make this difficult but at this stage he is at a much more advanced stage than the Pole. Raonic has struggled somewhat this year with fitness which has caused some erratic results. He still won his third straight title at San Jose but hasn’t beat a top 10 player this year. His problems on grass were reinforced as he lost both of his matches to Gael Monfils and Ivan Dodig, so don’t expect any groundbreaking performances next week. But when the tennis caravan turns back towards the hard courts of America, Raonic will be hoping this will be the time he can at last make a breakthrough into the top 10.