Canadian Missile Crisis: Make or Break Time for Raonic

This December, I'm going to attempt to profile a few players to watch in advance of the 2014 season. Leave a comment on any of these postmortems if there is a player you think I overlooked!

Maybe it's maple leaf

Although he missed qualifying for the World Tour Finals in 2013, Milos Raonic did well to finish the year at No. 11. He's the youngest guy in the Top 20 and second youngest in the Top 50. So why does it seem like 2014 is a make or break season for the Pride of Canada (or something)? It's because his 2013 didn't really consist of anything special. There were a few highs, and a few lows, but he's been mostly stagnant in terms of big wins or impressive runs. Here's how his 2013 shook out:

The Good

Milos should really be able to take advantage of his improved ranking on the Australian hard courts. He had a really impressive Asian swing, winning the Bangkok title over Tomas Berdych and defending his finalist points in Tokyo (ultimately losing to the hot hand of Juan Martin Del Potro). His big fall left him with an outside shot of qualifying for London going into Bercy. Even with all of that, Milos's season will be most remembered for his run to his first Masters 1000 final in his backyard at the Rogers Cup in Montreal, winning some very tight matches to get there.

The Bad

Unfortunately for Raonic, he continues to flounder against the guys ranked above him. His 2013 record against the Top 10 was only 3-9, with two of those victories coming after the U.S. Open and one of them muddled by controversy (more on that later). His Grand Slam performances have also been a disappointment. He failed to reach the quarterfinals of a single Slam this year and had his opportunity in Flushing Meadows against everyone's favorite Round of 16 opponent, Richard Gasquet. Milos had a match point in the very long fourth set tiebreaker, but couldn't close.

The Ugly

Milos really took unexpected heat when he hypothetically/technically gamed the system at the expense of beloved DelPo en route to the Rogers Cup final. Granted, Milos was on his way to winning that match and he did well to eventually apologize, but it wasn't a good look for him or for tennis. Raonic's desire to win matches is very evident, but it makes me wonder whether this helps or hurts him during pressure points. For someone who is prone to playing tiebreakers, he had a very mediocre 20-19 record last season.

2014 Outlook

I'm not sure what this new season will bring for Milos. His improved ranking should help him get slightly softer draws at Slams, but he's lost to lower ranked players in the past, and in rather routine fashion. We'll see if he can do some damage on the hard courts, especially in North America. Events outside of his home continent may be tough on Milos. He hasn't done a whole lot on clay and he's useless on grass. If he is to make a big move up to the upper crust of the rankings, Raonic better take advantage of the Melbourne, Indian Wells, and Miami hard courts. Who knows if he will, eh? (Had to.)

Agree? Disagree? Leave a comment!