Ernests Gulbis

Country	Latvia
Residence	Jūrmala, Latvia
Born	(1988-08-30) August 30, 1988 (age 23) Riga, Latvia
Height	1.90 m (6 ft 3 in)
Weight	77 kg (170 lb)
Turned pro	2004
Plays	Right-handed (two-handed backhand)
Career prize money	$2,438,626
Singles
Career record	107–108
Career titles	2
Highest ranking	No. 21 (February 7, 2011)
Current ranking	No. 92 (May 21, 2012)
Grand Slam Singles results
Australian Open	2R (2009)
French Open	QF (2008)
Wimbledon	2R (2008, 2009)
US Open	4R (2007)
Other tournaments
Olympic Games	1R (2008)
Doubles
Career record	20–18
Career titles	2
Highest ranking	No. 130 (November 23, 2009)
Current ranking	No. 545 (March 5, 2012)
Last updated on: March 8, 2012.

Ernests Gulbis (pronounced [ˈærnəsts ˈɡulbis], born August 30, 1988) is a Latvian professional tennis player. In 2008, Gulbis won his first ATP Tour doubles title at the U.S. Men's Clay Court Championships, teaming with Rainer Schüttler, and in 2010 won his first ATP Tour singles title in the Delray Beach, defeating Ivo Karlović in the final. He won his second in July, 2011, by defeating Mardy Fish in the final of the 2011 Farmers Classic tournament, held in Los Angeles. His career highlights also include a 4th round appearance at the 2007 US Open and a quarterfinal appearance at the 2008 French Open, as well as several other ATP World Tour semifinal appearances.

Gulbis' professional training in tennis began at the age of 12, when he was enrolled at the Niki Pilić Tennis Academy in Croatia. Beginning after Wimbledon 2011, Gulbis is being coached by Guillermo Cañas.^[1] Previously, he was coached by Hernán Gumy (who before that was Marat Safin's coach), but their partnership ended due to Gumy's schedule; during that time, Darren Cahill served as Gulbis' consultant for several tournaments. Before Gumy, Ernests was coached by Karl Heinz Wetter and subsequently Nikola Pilić, the former professional Croatian tennis player and Croatian and German Davis Cup captain.^[2]

Personal life[link]

Gulbis comes from a very wealthy family. His book-collecting parents named his after Ernest Hemingway.^[3] His father, Ainārs, is an investment banker, while his mother, Milēna Gulbe-Kavace, is a theater actress. The second of six children, Gulbis has three sisters and two brothers, one of which is training in Florida to become a professional tennis player as well. Gulbis comes from a sporting family in general, and his grandfather, Alvils Gulbis, was one of the starting five players on ASK Rīga, the Soviet Union basketball team that won the European Championships.^[4] His other grandfather, Uldis Pūcītis, was a popular actor and film director. He first started playing tennis with his grandmother and considers basketball, football and ice hockey to be his favorite sports.

Gulbis is known, both by his fellow tennis players and the media, as one of the funnier personalities on the tour. When Gulbis stunned world number 1 Roger Federer 2–6, 6–1, 7–5 at the 2010 Italian Open only after throwing away six previous match points, he told reporters after the match, "I shit my pants a little bit there . . . excuse my language," and has also bragged about his racquet-throwing "skills" in an on-court interview.^[5] On a telecast during the 2010 Western and Southern Financial Group Masters from Cincinnati, broadcasters Brad Gilbert, Patrick McEnroe and Chris Fowler all compared Gulbis to former world number 1 Marat Safin, in terms of both playing style and attitude on and off court. Also like Safin, Gulbis often comments about his own lack of discipline and/or interest in practicing, but is very forthcoming about his aspirations of entering the top ten, five or even number one in the ATP rankings.

In 2009, Gulbis was arrested in Sweden for allegedly soliciting prostitutes.^[6] He he called it a misunderstanding. After paying a small fine, he was released in time to play in the Stockholm Open.^[3]

Gulbis speaks Latvian, Russian, English and some German.^[4]

Tennis career[link]

The highlights of his career up to 2006 included reaching the final of the Oberstaufen Challenger in July 2006, where he lost to Michal Tabara, reaching the final of the Tampere Challenger, also in July 2006, where he lost to Florian Mayer, reaching the semi-finals of ATP St. Petersburg Open as a wildcard in October, where he lost to Mario Ančić and winning the Eckental Challenger in November, where he defeated Philipp Petzschner. In the 2008 US Open second round, Gulbis played a grueling 4 setter against Andy Roddick, yet lost. Later when interviewed, it was discovered that both he and his American opponent shared a birthday the moment the match rolled past midnight and into the early hours of the next day, August 30.

2007[link]

Gulbis in Sydney against Baghdatis

Gulbis started his season as a qualifier in the Sydney Medibank International, losing in the first round to Marcos Baghdatis of Cyprus.^[7] He was subsequently defeated in the first qualifying round of the Australian Open.

Gulbis was relatively successful on the Challenger circuit in 2007. He reached the quarterfinals in Bergamo (l. to Fabrice Santoro) and the semifinals in Heilbronn (l. to Michaël Llodra). Gulbis won his second Challenger title by triumphing over the local favorite, Klavs Bogdanovics, at the Besançon Challenger in France, enabling him to break into the ATP Top 100 for the first time in his career. In his next tournament, the Sarajevo Challenger, Gulbis emerged victorious in both the singles and doubles events.

In the first week of October, he won the Mons Challenger in Belgium (d. Kristof Vliegen) as the top seed, breaking into the ATP Top 50 for the first time in his career and surpassing Juan Martín del Potro as the highest-ranked player born in 1988. This win also meant a fourth, consecutive title, which drew some attention to him by tennis pundits.

Grand Slam debut[link]

Gulbis during a match with Potito Starace at the 2007 U.S. Open.

Gulbis announced his arrival on the Grand Slam stage in the 2007 French Open by defeating the British veteran, Tim Henman in straight sets to advance to the second round. It was heralded by the British Davis Cup captain, John Lloyd, as "... a brilliant performance from Gulbis, that is just pure and utter talent."^[8] Gulbis' run was halted in the second round by Spaniard Álbert Montañés, with a 1–6, 2–6, 6–1, 6–7 defeat, in a rain-interrupted match.

At Wimbledon, his second Grand Slam participation, Gulbis again was drawn to face Marcos Baghdatis in the first round. He succeeded in winning the first set off the tenth-seeded Cypriot before succumbing in four sets.^[9] Gulbis debuted in Grand Slam doubles by teaming up with Ivan Ljubičić, with whom he had reached the semi-finals of the 2007 Ordina Open.

At the 2007 U.S. Open, Gulbis upset the No. 30 seed, Potito Starace, in the first round and the No. 8 seed, Tommy Robredo, in the third round, winning by a convincing score of 6–1, 6–3, 6–2. In that match, Gulbis broke Robredo six times and had 39 winners to Robredo's seven.^[10] Gulbis' run was finally halted by former world Number 1, Carlos Moyà, to whom he lost in four sets.^[11]

2008[link]

Gulbis serving to David Nalbandian at the 2008 Pacific Life Open.

At the first round of the 2008 Australian Open, Gulbis lost to Marat Safin 0–6, 4–6, 6–7. He reached the second round of the 2008 Pacific Life Open, where he lost a tight match to former Grand Slam finalist David Nalbandian with the score of 6–4, 4–6, 7–6. In the first round of the 2008 Miami Masters, he defeated Dominik Hrbatý, but in the second round met eventual champion Nikolay Davydenko. After winning the first set 6–3, he lost the following two sets in tiebreaks.

His biggest result up to that point occurred when he reached the quarterfinals of the 2008 French Open. Throughout the tournament he beat Simon Greul, seventh seed James Blake, Nicolás Lapentti and home-favourite Michaël Llodra.^[12] In the quarterfinals he lost to third seed Novak Djokovic 5–7, 6–7, 5–7.

In his next tournament he reached the third round of the 2008 Queen's Club Championships, beating Kristof Vliegen and 12th seed Andreas Seppi. He lost to 6th seed Andy Murray 7–5, 1–6, 4–6.

In the first round at Wimbledon, Gulbis defeated fellow rising star John Isner, but lost in the 2nd round to the 2nd seed and eventual champion Rafael Nadal with a score line of 5–7, 6–2, 7–6, 6–3 in a rain-interrupted match. Other than Roger Federer, he was the only player to take a set off the eventual champion.

At the 2008 Cincinnati Masters, Gulbis defeated Jarkko Nieminen, Arnaud Clément, and James Blake but succumbed in the quarterfinal to #3 seed Novak Djokovic 6–3, 6–4.

At the US Open, Gulbis defeated Thomas Johansson in the first round before losing to Andy Roddick in the second 3–6, 7–5, 6–2, 7–5. Coincidentally, it was his and Andy's birthday on the day they played.

2009[link]

Gulbis began the year strongly by defeating former training partner Novak Djokovic 6–4, 6–4 in the first round of the Brisbane International tournament before falling in the second round to Paul-Henri Mathieu 3–6, 4–6. He lost in the second round of 2009 Australian Open to Igor Andreev in 5 sets after beating Albert Montañés in the first round in straight sets.

Gulbis was seeded 3rd heading into the 2009 Delray Beach International Tennis Championships, but was defeated in the 1st round by former World No. 8 Marcos Baghdatis. It was the fourth time he was drawn to face Baghdatis in the first round of a tournament.

Gulbis had a poor clay court season compared to 2008, failing to go deep in any of the tournaments preceding the French Open. Gulbis also failed to defend his quarterfinal appearance at the French Open, causing his ranking to drop to 67th, the lowest it had been since the summer of 2007.

At the 2009 Wimbledon Championships, Gulbis, unseeded, defeated Italian Riccardo Ghedin 6–2, 6–4, 6–4 in the first round before falling to third seeded Andy Murray of Great Britain 2–6, 5–7, 3–6.^[13]

Gulbis played in the Indianapolis Tennis Championships in singles and doubles. He lost to Marc Gicquel of France in the first round. However, he entered in the doubles draw with Russian Dmitry Tursunov and won the Championship. They played number one seeded Ashley Fisher and Jordan Kerr of Australia and won 6–4, 3–6, [11–9] in the final.^[14]

At the US Open, Gulbis was again drawn to play Andy Murray early in a grand slam, losing to the No. 2 seed 5–7, 3–6, 5–7 in the first round.

At the 2009 Rakuten Japan Open Tennis Championships, Gulbis advanced to the quarterfinals, upsetting 6th seed Radek Štěpánek in the first round as a qualifier, then defeating top 20 player Juan Mónaco in the second in straight sets. He lost to eventual champion and No. 2 seed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga after taking the first set, 6–4, 4–6, 3–6.

The year saw a general decline in his ranking, with Gulbis failing to go deep in any of the grand slams, which was contrary to the expectations of many professionals and pundits.

2010[link]

To begin the year, Gulbis claimed wins in the first two rounds of the Australian Open precursor tournament, the Qatar ExxonMobil Open, defeating 6th seeded Spaniard Albert Montañés 6–2, 7–5, and subsequently Italian Andreas Seppi 6–4, 7–5. Gulbis progressed to the third round, where he was defeated in a tight match against world number 1 Roger Federer 2–6, 6–4, 4–6. At the 2010 Australian Open itself, Gulbis was ousted in the first round by 30th Seed Argentine Juan Mónaco in straight sets.

In February, Gulbis reached his second career semifinal at an ATP 500 event, the Regions Morgan Keegan Championships in Memphis, Tennessee. In the second round he defeated No. 3 seed Radek Štěpánek, facing two, consecutive Czech players as he ousted No. 5 seed Tomáš Berdych in the third round in a tight, three set match. He lost in the semifinals to eventual champion Sam Querrey.

At the end of February he then competed in the Delray Beach International Tennis Championships, an outdoor hard court tournament, where he won his maiden ATP tour title. In the final, he faced 6'11" Croatian and No. 2 seed Ivo Karlović, winning convincingly with a score line of 6–2, 6–3. With this victory, his ranking rose back into the top 50.

Gulbis' next tournament was the 2010 BNP Paribas Open, an ATP 1000 Tier tournament. Gulbis defeated Swiss player Marco Chiudinelli in the first round, but succumbed to No. 5 seed Nikolay Davydenko 6–4, 6–4 in the second round. Davydenko later withdrew from the tournament due to a wrist injury exacerbated during the match. Ernests did not compete in the Sony Ericsson Open, instead returning to Europe to train for the Clay season.

At his first claycourt tournament of the season, the ATP 1000 Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters, Gulbis again defeated Swiss Marco Chiudinelli in the first round, this time in straight sets, but lost to 13th seed Stanislas Wawrinka in the second round, also in straight sets. At his next tournament, the ATP 500 Barcelona Open Banco Sabadell, Ernests reached the quarterfinals, defeating Peter Luczak, Jérémy Chardy and Albert Ramos-Viñolas all in straight sets. He lost to in-form, eventual champion Fernando Verdasco in the quarterfinals 2–6, 6–7, who had also made the finals of the 2010 Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters just a week prior. With this result, Gulbis' ranking rose back into the top 40, and also pushed his career win-loss record past 50% for the first time in his career, his year to date win-loss record at 15–7.

At his next tournament, the 2010 Internazionali BNL d'Italia in Rome, Gulbis was drawn to face Marcos Baghdatis in the first round of a tournament for the fifth time in his career, although for the first time on clay. He defeated Baghdatis for the first time with a convincing scoreline of 6–2, 6–2, which set up a match with number 1 seed and World No. 1 Roger Federer. After losing the first set, Gulbis rallied to win the match 2–6, 6–1, 7–5, taking Federer on his seventh match point, which resulted in the biggest win in his career to date.^[15] In the third round, he backed up his win over Federer, with a battling 6–2, 3–6, 7–6 victory over Italian qualifier Filippo Volandri. In the next round, Gulbis defeated Feliciano López 7–6, 6–1 to reach his first semifinal of an ATP 1000 Tier tournament, where he lost to Rafael Nadal in a tight, three set match, hitting 50 winners and 59 errors throughout, with the scoreline 4–6, 6–3, 4–6, making Gulbis the first player to take a set off Nadal on clay this year. With his semifinal appearance, he assured himself a seeded position at the 2010 French Open.

At the 2010 Mutua Madrileña Madrid Open, Gulbis got off to a winning start against 2010 Estoril Open champion Albert Montañés 7–5, 6–1 in the first round. In the second round, he outplayed the 10th seed Mikhail Youzhny in two sets 7–6, 6–4 and went on to beat Feliciano López 6–2, 7–6 for the second time this year. In the quarter-finals he faced World No.1 Roger Federer again, but lost 3–6, 6–1, 6–4.

Expectations were high for Gulbis as the former quarter finalist came into the 2010 French Open seeded 23rd (ranked 27th) after having an incredible clay court season prior. However, Gulbis retired during the first round against the veteran Frenchman and World Number 38 Julien Benneteau, who he had defeated earlier in the year, while trailing heavily 4–6, 2–6, 0–1r citing a hamstring injury.

Due to his injury sustained during the clay court season, Gulbis withdrew from Wimbledon and its precursor tournaments, effectively missing the entire grass season.

Gulbis returned to the ATP in July, first competing in the 250 level Farmers Classic in Los Angeles, California. He defeated Lukáš Lacko in the first round in straight sets 7–5, 7–5 but lost to the in-form Alejandro Falla in the round of 16 in three sets 6–4, 3–6, 6–7. He next played in the Legg Mason Tennis Classic where he received a first round bye, but quickly retired in the second round to Ukrainian Illya Marchenko, citing fatigue.

His next tournament was the ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Rogers Cup. He defeated world number 26 Thomaz Bellucci in the first round easily, 6–1, 6–4, but fell to world number 5 and number 5 seed Robin Söderling in the second round in a tight match, with the scoreline of 6–4, 4–6, 4–6. He then played the ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Western & Southern Open, defeating Donald Young in the first round and 13th seed Jürgen Melzer in the second, both in close matches: 7–6, 6–4 and 6–7, 6–3, 7–6 respectively. However, he fell in the third round to world number 4 Andy Murray in another tight encounter, with the scoreline of 6–3, 4–6, 6–7.

Gulbis lost in the first round of the US Open to Jérémy Chardy of France in three sets, marking the fourth consecutive first round lost at a Grand Slam tournament. Gulbis then took three weeks off to play for the Latvian Davis Cup team against Poland (played on indoor carpet), winning both of his singles rubbers against Jerzy Janowicz and Michal Przysiezny. His next tournament was the PTT Thailand Open, a 250 level event. He received a bye through the first round and defeated Rainer Schüttler in three sets, advancing to the quarter finals, where he fell to Guillermo García López, also in three sets. He then played the Japan Open Tennis Championships, also a 250 level event, but suffered an upset defeat at the hands of world number 432 Dmitry Tursunov, losing 3–6, 4–6.

Gulbis suffered two more, consecutive first round losses at the hands of Richard Gasquet, at the Shanghai Rolex Masters, and Novak Djokovic, at the Swiss Indoors. However, in his final tournament of the season, he bounced back at the ATP World Tour Masters 1000 even in Paris, the BNP Paribas Masters, where he dispatched world number 40 Juan Ignacio Chela and world number 10 Mikhail Youzhny, both in straight sets. He then fell to Andy Roddick, also in straight sets: 3–6, 6–7.

Ernests Gulbis ended the year at a then-high number 24 in the world.

2011[link]

To begin the year, Gulbis claimed wins in the first two rounds of the Australian Open precursor tournament, the Qatar ExxonMobil Open, defeating Victor Hănescu 6–3, 7–6 and subsequently Croatian Antonio Veić 6–3, 6–1. Gulbis progressed to the quarterfinals, equaling his 2010 run, where he was defeated in a tight match against world number 1 Rafael Nadal 7–6, 6–3, having lost to Federer in three sets at the same stage, the prior year. Gulbis next played in the 2011 Medibank International Sydney: he received a bye through the first round due to being seeded 3rd for the tournament, and defeated Russian Igor Andreev in the second round in three sets. He then defeated fellow rising star Sergiy Stakhovsky in the quarter finals 6–4, 6–4 before losing to eventual champion Gilles Simon of France in the semifinals, 6–7, 6–0 citing fatigue as a cause for the lop-sided effort. As a result of his semi-final appearance his ranking rose to number 22 in the world.

His next tournament was the 2011 Australian Open, where seeded 24th he lost in the first round to unseeded German Benjamin Becker in straight sets, again citing fatigue and illness for his poor showing. It marked his fifth consecutive loss at a Grand Slam event. Gulbis then withdrew from his next three tournaments, his ranking momentarily rising to his personal best of 21 in the world due to Marin Čilić failing to defend his points from the 2010 Australian Open. His ranking then dropped to number 24.

Gulbis returned to the tour in late February. His next tournament was the Dubai Tennis Championships, an outdoor hard court tournament, which was held simultaneously with the Delray Beach International Tennis Championships, the tournament that Gulbis attained his first ATP title from; however, the Dubai Tennis Championships is a 500 level tournament, whereas the Delray Beach International Tennis Championships is a 250 level tournament, and given the much stronger field at Delray in 2011 than 2010, Dubai offered a stronger chance of maintaining or advancing in the rankings. In the first round, ranked 24th and seeded 8th, Gulbis won his first round match against wild card entrant and former doubles partner Michael Berrer convincingly, 6–3, 6–4, despite having trouble with his first serve, giving away seven double faults throughout the match. Gulbis fell to Sergiy Stakhovsky of Ukraine in the second round in three sets, despite having defeated him in their two previous meetings.

Ernests Gulbis at the 2011 US Open

Gulbis' season did little to improve as he next played in the 2011 BNP Paribas Open, receiving a bye through the first round before struggling with Lu Yen-Hsun, but ultimately prevailing, with the scoreline of 6–7, 7–6, 6–1. In the third round he was swiftly defeated by eventual winner Novak Djokovic, 0–6, 1–6. He then proceeded to play the 2011 Sony Ericsson Open (which Djokovic also won), receiving a bye through the first round, but losing in the second round to ATP-ranked #72 Carlos Berlocq 1–6, 6–2, 4–6. Ranked 30 going into the Monte-Carlo Masters, he defeated the Ukrainian world number 21 Alexandr Dolgopolov in his first round in straight sets, before losing to Milos Raonic in the second round, also in straight sets. Gulbis proceeded to lose in the first round of the 2011 Serbia Open – also a clay court tournament – to Ukrainian Illya Marchenko, in straight sets, 2–6, 4–6.

From late April to mid-May, Gulbis took three weeks off due to fatigue before competing in the 2011 Open de Nice Côte d'Azur, placed in Nice, France, a 250 level outdoor clay court tournament. In his first two rounds, he defeated Fabio Fognini and Denis Istomin, both in three sets, before falling to world number 6 Tomáš Berdych in the quarter finals, 1–6, 4–6. From there, Gulbis' playing deteriorated further as his ranking dropped from 30 to 85 during the clay court season, failing to defend his deep runs in 2010. He proceeded to lose his next four matches in a row: against Blaž Kavčič at the French Open, against Adrian Mannarino at the Queen's Club Championships, against Dmitri Tursunov at Wimbledon (which marked his seventh, consecutive first round exit at a slam, and after which he took nearly a month off from tennis to train with his new coach), and against former world number 4 James Blake at the Atlanta Tennis Championships.

However, Gulbis won his second ATP title at the Farmers Classic in Los Angeles, where he snapped his five-match losing streak by defeating 5th seed Belgian Xavier Malisse in the first-round, 2–6, 6–3, 7–6 followed by American qualifier Daniel Kosakowski in straight sets. In the quarter finals he defeated Juan Martín Del Potro with relative ease, 6–2, 6–4, before defeating American Alex Bogomolov, Jr. in the semifinals. He faced No. 1 seed and No. 9 ranked Mardy Fish in the finals; after double-faulting to hand Fish the first set, he rallied to win the championship match 5–7, 6–4, 6–4.

Gulbis received a wildcard entry into the 2011 Rogers Cup. He defeated former world no. 1 Juan Carlos Ferrero in three sets in the first round, and proceeded to defeat Michaël Llodra in the second round after Llodra retired, 6–4, 1–0. In the third round he fell to eventual finalist Mardy Fish, who he had recently defeated, in another tight three-setter, 6–4, 3–6, 4–6. He then qualified for the 2011 Cincinnati Masters, where he lost to Croatian Ivan Dodig in two sets, 3–6, 6–7(3). He reached the second round of the US Open but lost to Gilles Muller 6-3, 6(4)-7, 4-6, 6(5)-7. He was later fined US$2,000 for improper coaching by the USTA.^[16]

Davis Cup[link]

Gulbis played in three Davis Cup ties for Latvia in 2009, winning all seven of the rubbers in which he participated (4 singles; 3 doubles with Deniss Pavlovs).^[17][18][19] His participation in the tie against Monaco in September helped Latvia to qualify for the Europe/Africa Zone Group I tier of Davis Cup for the first time in its history.^[19]

In 2010, Gulbis continued to support the Latvian Davis Cup team, playing against Poland, where he won both of his singles rubbers.

Record against the top players[link]

Gulbis win-loss record against players who were ranked World No. 10 or higher when the match was played is as follows:

Playing style and Equipment[link]

Gulbis primarily employs an offensive baseline playing style. Gulbis' most consistent shot is his forehand, which is taken with rapid pace and relatively flat execution, a short swing and high levels of wrist action, which causes the shot to be volatile and difficult to read. His running forehand typically has a slice action. Ernests has a right handed double-handed backhand, which is also taken very flat and with an extremely short swing. Gulbis is also known for his finesse shots, including the offensive topspin lob and drop shot, both of which he can strike from any position, including from deep in the court. Gulbis employs the drop shot consistently and often, sometimes to the point of derision. Gulbis plays an extremely aggressive, winner-driven game, which often leads to a high unforced error count, making his consistency an issue in tough matches, often causing him to be likened to Marat Safin. His aggressive baseline game is coupled with an extremely powerful serve, often reaching the upper 130's and low 140's in mph; however, Gulbis has struggled with his second serve, and often has high double fault statistics across the ATP leader board. Despite playing a style more attuned to fast surfaces, his strong showing at the 2008 French Open and his win over Federer on clay are attributed to his powerful and flat strokes which can play through the surface. Gulbis' primary weaknesses are his second serve, his consistency and his nerves; despite a strong serve and return, Gulbis has poor break point conversion, break point save and tie-break statistics, having on numerous occasions made strings of uncharacteristic unforced errors when serving or returning for sets or matches, as well as hitting numerous "easy" slams well out in tough situations, something he has become known for and often jokes about in interviews.

As of January 2012, Gulbis uses a Wilson Steam 100 BLX paintjob racquet after switching from Head. His strings are Pacific Poly Force 17 strung at 62 lbs. Gulbis uses Tourna grip on a white Hydrocontrol grip. He is endorsed by adidas for his attire.

ATP World Tour[link]

Singles: 2 (2–0)[link]

Outcome	No.	Date	Tournament	Surface	Opponent	Score
Winner	1.	Feb 28, 2010	Delray Beach	Hard	Ivo Karlović	6–2, 6–3
Winner	2.	July 31, 2011	Los Angeles	Hard	Mardy Fish	5–7, 6–4, 6–4

Doubles: 2 (2–0)[link]

Outcome	No.	Date	Tournament	Surface	Partnering	Opponents	Score
Winner	1.	April 14, 2008	Houston, United States	Clay	Rainer Schüttler	Pablo Cuevas Marcel Granollers	7–5, 7–6(7–3)
Winner	2.	July 18, 2009	Indianapolis, United States	Hard	Dmitry Tursunov	Ashley Fisher Jordan Kerr	6–4, 3–6, [11–9]

Singles performance timeline[link]

Current through the 2012 French Open.

Challengers and futures titles (10)[link]

Singles (7)[link]

No.	Date	Tournament	Surface	Opponent	Score
1.	September 12, 2005	Friedberg[disambiguation needed ], Germany	Clay	Marcel Zimmermann	6–4, 6–0
2.	January 16, 2006	Bergheim, Austria	Clay	Jean-Claude Scherrer	7–6(7–2), 3–6, 6–4
3.	March 6, 2006	Leuggern, Switzerland	Carpet	Tobias Klein	7–6(7–4), 6–4
4.	November 6, 2006	Eckental, Germany	Carpet	Philipp Petzschner	6–3, 6–0
5.	February 19, 2007	Besançon, France	Hard (i)	Édouard Roger-Vasselin	6–4, 3–6, 6–4
6.	March 12, 2007	Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina	Hard (i)	Jan Mertl	4–6, 6–4, 7–6(7–2)
7.	October 7, 2007	Mons, Belgium	Hard (i)	Kristof Vliegen	7–5, 6–3

Doubles (3)[link]

No.	Date	Tournament	Surface	Partnering	Opponents	Score
1.	July 10, 2006	Oberstaufen, Germany	Clay	Mischa Zverev	Teodor-Dacian Crăciun & Gabriel Moraru	6–1, 6–1
2.	October 30, 2006	Aachen, Germany	Carpet	Mischa Zverev	Tomasz Bednarek & Irakli Labadze	6–7(5–7), 6–4, [10–8]
3.	March 12, 2007	Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina	Hard (i)	Deniss Pavlovs	Jan Mertl & Lukáš Rosol	6–4, 6–3

Notes[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Ernests Gulbis

• Ernests Gulbis at the Association of Tennis Professionals
• Ernests Gulbis at the Davis Cup

This biographical article needs additional citations for verification. Please help by adding reliable sources. Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately, especially if potentially libelous or harmful. (August 2011)

Milos Raonic

Milos Raonic at the 2011 Australian Open
Country	Canada[1]
Residence	Thornhill, Ontario, Canada; Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain; Monte Carlo, Monaco[1]
Born	(1990-12-27) December 27, 1990 (age 21) Titograd, SR Montenegro, SFR Yugoslavia
Height	1.96 m (6 ft 5 in)
Turned pro	2008
Plays	Right-handed (two-handed backhand)
Career prize money	$1,360,669
Singles
Career record	57-33 (at ATP Tour level, Grand Slam level, and in Davis Cup)
Career titles	3
Highest ranking	No. 21 (May 14, 2012)
Current ranking	No. 22 (May 28, 2012)[2]
Grand Slam Singles results
Australian Open	4R (2011)
French Open	3R (2012)
Wimbledon	2R (2011)
US Open	1R (2010)
Doubles
Career record	6–9 (at ATP Tour level, Grand Slam level, and in Davis Cup)
Career titles	0
Highest ranking	No. 232 (June 13, 2011)
Last updated on: May 28, 2012.

Milos Raonic ( /ˈmiːloʊʃ ˈraʊnɪtʃ/ MEE-lohsh ROW-nich;^[3][4] Serbian^[5]: Милош Раонић, Miloš Raonić [mîloʃ râonitɕ]; born December 27, 1990) is a Canadian professional tennis player who lives in Thornhill, Ontario, Canada.^[1][6]

Born in what is now Podgorica, Montenegro, Raonic moved to Canada with his family at the age of 3.^[6] He speaks his native Serbian and English.^[7] Raonic is Canada's highest ATP ranked male singles player since computer rankings began in 1973. He qualified for his first grand slam event at the 2010 U.S. Open. In 2011 he rose from World No. 152 to No. 37 in a month, after he reached the fourth round of the Australian Open and won his first ATP title at the 2011 SAP Open. Raonic, who prefers to play on hard courts, plays an all-court game but is most notable for his serve, which is powerful and accurate. Since late 2010 he has been coached by former Spanish pro player Galo Blanco in Barcelona.

Junior tennis career[link]

Raonic's first ITF-sanctioned junior tennis event was the qualifying draw for the Canadian ITF Group 4 Championships in October 2003, where he lost in the first round to fellow Canadian Kirill Sinitsyn 6–7, 3–6. His next junior circuit action was a year later at the Canadian ITF Championships 1 event, where he lost in the first round of the main draw 4–6, 4–6 to compatriot Peter Marrack. In doubles at the same event he and partner Sheharyar Wali, also Canadian, reached the second round.

He won his first ITF tournament singles match in October 2005, defeating compatriot Tony Dang in three sets before falling in the round of 16 to American Christopher Racz. In doubles, he and compatriot Mohammed Niaki reached the semi-finals. Two weeks later, at the Canadian ITF Grade 3 Championships, Raonic reached his first final, where he and partner Sinitsyn lost to Marrack and Peter Polansky. In singles he lost again to Marrack in the first round.

In April 2006, Raonic reached the later rounds in a singles event, defeating Marrack in straight sets in the quarter-finals at the 24th All-Canadian ITF Junior Championships before losing to Julien Gauthier in the semis. After reaching the second round in singles of the Canadian Junior Open (Grade 1) in August, he then won the 2006 U18 ITF World Ranking Event (Grade 4) in early October, defeating Gauthier in the final 6–4, 6–0. He also captured the doubles title partnering compatriot John Taylor.

Raonic reached the third round in singles at a Grade 1 junior event in November–December 2006, the Eddie Herr International Junior Tennis Championships. Two weeks later he lost the singles final of the Grade 4 Prince Cup and won the doubles. In 2007 he lost early in the Grade 2 and Grade 1 junior events he entered. Raonic did however reach the finals of the Grade 3 US Junior International Hard Court Championships in August and won both the Grade 3 2007 U18 ITF World Ranking Event and Grade 4 U18 ITF World Ranking Event 2 in October on home soil. He also won the doubles at these events, partnering compatriot Nathaniel Gery for both. In doubles, he also lost in the final of the Pan American Closed ITF Championships (Group B1) in early October, partnering American Waylon Chin.

In December 2007, Raonic qualified for the prestigious Orange Bowl Tennis Championships, a Grade A event. He went on to reach the third round where he lost to American Chase Buchanan 4–6 in the third. Raonic began 2008 with a bang in juniors, winning the Grade 1 Nottinghill ITF event doubles event, partnering American Bradley Klahn. He and Klahn the following week reached the second round of the Australian Open before winning the Grade 1 USTA International Spring Championships in March–April. At the USTA International Spring, Raonic reached the quarter-finals for the first time in singles at a Grade 1 event, losing to Klahn in straight sets.

Professional tennis career[link]

2007[link]

Raonic was given wild cards into three Tennis Canada and Banque Nationale sponsored ITF Futures events in March, held indoors in the Province of Quebec. At Hull he won his first ever singles match played, over World No. 687 Fabrice Martin 7–5, 2–6, 6–4. He lost in the next round to World No. 661 Patrick Schmolzer 3–6, 3–6. The following week he lost in the first round to No. 2 seed John Paul Frattero 6–7, 3–6. In doubles, at both events, Raonic partnered fellow junior Vasek Pospisil and lost in the first round. Then in Rock Forest he again reached the second round, going out to No. 1 seed, Davis Cup teammate, hometown favourite and future coach Fred Niemeyer. He and Niemeyer played doubles in Sherbrooke too and reached the semi-finals.

Raonic saw his first ATP Challenger Series action in the summer, receiving a further wild card into the main draw of the Granby Challenger. He lost to No. 5 seed Gary Lugassy in the first round handily 4–6, 0–6. He also played doubles with Lugassy but went out in the first round. Raonic ended the year ranked World No. 1386, in both singles and doubles.

2008[link]

Raonic was again a wild card entrant in singles in the Banque Nationale Futures events in Quebec in March, fairing far better this time. At Canada F1 in Gatineau, he and partner Milan Pokrajac, unseeded, won the doubles title, while in singles he lost to World No. 457 Michael Yani in the quarter-finals in three sets. The following week in Montreal Raonic and Pokrajac finished doubles runners-up and in singles Raonic went out in the second round. Then in Canada F3 in Sherbrooke, Raonic reached his first tour finals in singles, winning four three-set matches to do so. In the final he lost 5–7, 6–7 to unseeded Italian Enrico Iannuzzi . In doubles, he and Pokrajac lost in the first round.

In late April, Raonic next competed in an ITF tour event, defeating compatriot Kirill Sinitsyn 6–2, 6–0 to qualify (as the No. 5 seed) for the main draw in singles at U.S.A. F9 in Vero Beach on outdoor clay. In the main draw he lost however in the first round to fellow qualifier American Marcus Fugate 1–6, 4–6. Raonic was a direct entrant into the main doubles draw, but he and partner Adam El Mihdawy lost in the first round. The following week at U.S.A. F10 in Orange Park, Florida, Raonic lost in the third round of singles qualifying despite being the No. 3 seed. He did not compete in any tour events next until July.

In July, Raonic, as a wild-card entrant, lost in the first round in singles of back-to-back Canadian held Challenger events, Granby and Moncton. In doubles he and partner Vasek Pospisil reached the second round at Granby but lost in the first in Moncton. The following week he received a wild card in qualifying for the 2008 Rogers Cup and lost in the first round to World No. 203 Alexandre Kudryavtsev 3–6, 4–6.

The next tour action Raonic saw was in October in Japan. In Kashiwa at Japan F10 he lost in the first round to fellow unseeded player Hiroki Kondo 4–6, 2–6. In doubles he and partner Tadayuki Longhi reached the second round. The following week at Japan F11 in Tokyo, Raonic upset No. 2 seed Tatsuma Ito in three sets before falling to Thailand Davis Cupper Peerakiat Siriluethaiwattana in the second round. He did not play doubles.

Raonic competed his 2008 tour play as a wild card entrant in the Rimouski Challenger, where he lost in the first round to Jose De Armas after taking the first set. In doubles however, he and partner Vasek Pospisil teamed to capture their first Challenger title. The wild cards defeated the No. 2 seeds in the semis and the No. 3 seeded team of Kristian Pless and Michael Ryderstedt in the final 5–7, 6–4, 10–6. Raonic finished 2008 World No. 915 in singles and No. 513 in doubles. Following the 2008 season Raonic turned down an offer from the University of Virginia and turned pro signing on with the SFX agency.^[8]

2009[link]

Raonic began his year in mid-January attempting to qualify in singles for U.S.A. F1 in Boca Raton, Florida, losing in three sets in the qualifying round as the No. 13 seed. He qualified the following week for the main draw at U.S.A. F2 as the No. 12 seed, but lost in the first round of the main draw. Qualifying for singles allowed him to enter the doubles draw as a wild card—he and partner Kevin Botti reached the second round.

The next week at U.S.A. F3 in Plantation, Florida, Raonic again lost in singles in the qualifying round, this time as the No. 9 seed. After a week off, he qualified for Croatia F1, as the No. 11 seed. He then knocked off World No. 293 and No. 7 seed Jan Mertl, World No. 425 Ivaylo Traykov, and No. 606 Denis Matsukevich before falling to No. 8 seed Louk Sorensen in the semi-finals. In doubles he and compatriot Erik Chvojka, the No. 3 seeds, reached the second round. The following week the Canadian doubles duo reached the finals of Croatia F2; in singles, Roanic again qualified for the main draw and then reached the quarter-finals.

After a couple weeks off, Raonic captured his first tour singles title, Canada F2 in Montreal.^[9] Receiving a wild card from Tennis Canada to play in the main draw, Raonic faced no seeded players and two qualifiers—he defeated World No. 594 Gregoire Burquier in the final 6–3, 6–4. In doubles, he and Vasek Pospisil, the top seeds, reached the second round. The team then did one better the following week at Canada F3 in Sherbrooke, Quebec, reaching the semi-finals, again as the top seeds. In singles, Milos lost to Vasek in the quarter-finals in three close sets.

Two weeks later Raonic again qualified for the main draw at a Futures event, this time as the No. 4 seed at U.S.A. F7, and reached the quarter-finals. He and partner Philip Bester, as the No. 3 seeds, captured the doubles title, defeating the No. 1 seeds in the final, Lester Cook and Treat Conrad Huey. The following week in Little Rock, Arkansas, Milos qualified for the main draw as the No. 2 seed, but lost in the first round. He did not play doubles.

Raonic's next action was in June at Slovenia F2. For the first time he received a spot in the main draw of a singles tournament based solely on this ranking. He lost however in the first round, to No. 1 seed Pavol Cervenak 4–6, 2–6. In doubles, he and partner Aljaz Bedene lost in the second round. The following week at Slovenia F3 Milos again lost in the first round, this time to No. 3 seed Denis Molchanov . He and Molchanov teamed to win the doubles title however, the fourth tour doubles title of Raonic's career. The next week, Raonic reached the quarter-finals of Italy F15, on clay in Padova, while in doubles he and partner Marc Fornell-Mestrs reached the second round. He completed his European swing losing in the first round of Italy F16 in singles while reaching the semis in doubles, partnering with Stefano Valenti.

After two weeks off, Raonic resumed play at U.S.A. F16 in Pittsburgh, on clay. The No. 7 seed, he was upset in the second round by Rhyne Williams. In doubles he and partner Pospisil, the top seeds, lost in the semi-finals. The following week in Peoria, Illinois, the No. 6 seed Raonic reached the quarter-finals where he was upset by the unseeded Pospisil. He and Vasek captured the doubles title however, winning their final three matches handily. After a week off, Raonic once again received a wild card into the main draw of the Granby Challenger. He played World No. 262 to a first-set tie-break loss before succumbing in the second set 1–6. In doubles, he and Pospisil lost in a second-round tie-break to the No. 2 seeds Colin Fleming and Ken Skupski.

The following week Raonic was given a wild card into singles qualifying for the 2009 Rogers Cup, where he began by beating World No. 77 Teymuraz Gabashvili in three sets following up with a straight sets win over World No. 113 Michael Llodra in the qualifying round.^[10] In the main draw, he lost to World No. 10 Fernando Gonzalez in three sets. Raonic finished the match having served and returned better on first serves than his opponent, and having won more points in the match, 112 to 107.^[11] In the week following this result, he lost to Kittipong Wachiramanowong in three sets in the final of Thailand F1 and, with partner Nikolaus Moser, won the doubles title. Then playing just singles in the next two weeks, he won the title for Thailand F2 and reached the semis of Thailand F3 (l/Jamie Baker).

Raonic spent the autumn of 2009 playing on the American Challenger circuit, but with less success than he had in summer. He finished 2009 ranked World No. 373 in singles and No. 425 in doubles.

2010[link]

Raonic started the 2010 season with new coach, former teammate Frédéric Niemeyer.^[6] Raonic reached the semi-finals of three of his first five ITF Futures events in doubles, Great Britain F1, F2, partnering with Uladzimir Ignatik, and France F2 playing with Romain Jouan. He also won his doubles Davis Cup tie playing against Colombia with World No. 1 Daniel Nestor.^[12] He lost, however, both of his singles rubbers in Bogota.

In mid-April Raonic captured the Korea F2 singles title as the top seed, defeating No. 3 Hiroki Kondo in the final 6–1, 6–1. He did so without losing a set and by winning his first match without conceding a game, over World No. 668 Min-Hyoek Cho. In May he captured his second title in three weeks, dropping just one set in taking Korea F4. The following week he lost to No. 8 seed Tatsuma Ito in the first round of the 2010 Busan Open Challenger Tennis tournament. Despite the loss he saw his singles ranking reach a career high for the second time in two weeks, at World No. 303. Raonic reached a new career high singles ranking in late June, rising to World No. 276.

In July Raonic reached the singles finals of the 2010 Challenger Banque Nationale de Granby before falling to No. 1 seed Tobias Kamke 3–6, 6–7. This result saw Raonic's ranking go to yet another new career best World No. 209. The following week Raonic received a special exemption to appear in the main draw of the 2010 Odlum Brown Vancouver Open where he has lost to No. 7 seed Robert Kendrick in the first round 6–7, 4–6. Granted a wild card into the singles main draw of the 2010 Rogers Cup, Raonic lost in the first round to Victor Hănescu 4–6, 4–6. In doubles he and partner Vasek Pospisil had the privilege of playing against Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic, and winning 10–8 in the tie-break. It was first time that the World Nos. 1 and 2 had played together in a tour doubles match since Jimmy Connors and Arthur Ashe did so in 1976. Raonic and Pospisil lost in the second round, however.

Raonic at the 2010 US Open

Raonic qualified for the U.S. Open but lost his main draw first round match to Australia No. 3 and wild card entrant Carsten Ball. Two weekends later in the Davis cup, versus the Dominican Republic, Raonic won his singles match 9–7 in the fifth set over Victor Estrella, as Canada won the tie 5–0 to stay in the Americas Zone Group 1 for 2011.

After a week off, Milos qualified for the 2010 Proton Malaysian Open. He reached quarterfinals before losing to Igor Andreev. One week later, Raonic qualified for the 2010 Rakuten Japan Open Tennis Championship. He lost to World No. 1 Rafael Nadal in the second round.^[13] Raonic competed well against Nadal, returning better on first serve in fact (winning 20% of points to Nadal's 14) while serving well on first serve (getting 67% of his first serves in play, winning 86% of those points). He had more chances to break point but experience and poise won out for the veteran as Nadal converted both of his only two break points and Raonic, none of his five.

The next two weeks playing in Asia, Tennis Canada hired Galo Blanco, who had worked with fellow Canadian player Steven Diez in Spain, on a two-week trial basis.^[14] (Niemeyer wished to step down and he and Blanco co-coached during this period.) Unseeded, Milos reached the quarter-finals of the 2010 Tashkent Challenger. After defeating No. 2 seed and Indian No. 1 Somdev Devvarman in the second round in straight sets, he was forced to retire with a sore shoulder trailing No. 5 seed Karol Beck. After a couple of weeks off, with Blanco now in charge, Raonic lost in the first round of qualifying for the 500 Series 2010 Valencia Open 500, to No. 2 seed Pablo Cuevas. It was turned out to be the last tour action he had for the year. Instead, he turned his attention to a six-week off-season training regiment in Barcelona, under the guidance of Blanco and trainer Tony Estalella, one that Blanco later described, during the 2011 Australian Open, as "amazing." ^[14]

Raonic ended 2010 ranked World No. 156 in singles and No. 349 in doubles.

Raonic serving at the 2011 Australian Open

2011[link]

Raonic started 2011 playing qualifying matches for the 2011 Aircel Chennai Open where he lost in the qualifying round against Édouard Roger-Vasselin. Next, he qualified for the 2011 Australian Open. He won his first round match against German Björn Phau in three sets, his first victory in a main draw Grand Slam match.^[15] In the second round he defeated No. 22 seed Michaël Llodra of France, again in three sets, becoming the first Canadian man in 10 years to reach the third round of a singles Grand Slam.^[16] He then knocked out the Russian World No. 10 Mikhail Youzhny in four sets to reach the fourth round, the first qualifier to make the 4th round of a Grand Slam since 1999.^[17] Playing his next match at the Hisense Arena, he fell to World No. 7 David Ferrer after he lost the last three sets, despite winning the first.^[18]

Despite the loss, Raonic received rave reviews for his performance at the Australian Open, such as when John McEnroe referred to Raonic as "the real deal" on Twitter,^[19] or the BBC's reference to Raonic as part of "a new generation".^[20] Martina Navratilova referred to Raonic as "a new star" saying that "the sky is the limit" for the young tennis player,^[21] and the Sydney Morning Herald referred to Raonic as a "future superstar".^[22]

On November 17, 2011, Raonic played an exhibition match against Pete Sampras, and won the match 7-6, 6-1. Sampras’s serve approached 200 km/h throughout the night, whereas Raonic regularly topped that mark and reached speeds up to 222 km/h.[54]

Two weeks later, Raonic began play at the SAP Open tournament. After upsetting No. 4 seed Xavier Malisse in the first round in two sets, he then beat James Blake, again in two sets.^[23] After beating Ričardas Berankis in the quarterfinal match 6–4, 7–6, he reached ATP tournament semifinals for the first time in his career. Raonic advanced to his first final of an ATP tournament when the No. 2 seed Gaël Monfils defaulted in the semifinals citing a wrist injury.^[24] In the final, Milos beat 1st seeded Fernando Verdasco 7–6, 7–6, winning his first ATP title, and became the first Canadian player to win an ATP singles tournament since Greg Rusedski in 1995 (before Rusedski started representing Great Britain).^[25]

Raonic received a wild card into the main singles draw of the following week's 2011 Regions Morgan Keegan Championships. Interestingly, he opened against Fernando Verdasco, the player he had just faced two days earlier, and prevailed again, this time in three sets. Milos next defeated Radek Štěpánek also in three sets, serving a career-high 38 aces in the process.^[26] After defeating qualifier Robert Kendrick in the quarter-finals, again losing the second set before prevailing, Raonic continued his unbeaten run, defeating No. 4 seed Mardy Fish in the semis, once again despite dropping the second set. He lost a closely contested final, however, to No. 1 seed and two-time Memphis champion Andy Roddick 6–7, 7–6, 5–7, with Roddick making a diving forehand to win break point, on his fifth championship point for the match.^[27] Raonic's performance in this tournament elevated him to yet another career high ranking of World No. 37, making him the highest-ranked Canadian male singles player in ATP Rankings history.^[28]

Raonic won both his singles Davis Cup rubbers against Mexico on clay as well as the doubles tie together with Vasek Pospisil to advance Canada to the second round.^[29]

He was given a wild card berth for the Indian Wells Masters 1000 tournament main draw,^[30] where he lost to Ryan Harrison in the third round after wins over Marsel İlhan and Mardy Fish in the first two rounds.

Raonic started the clay court season at the Monte-Carlo Masters tournament by winning over Michaël Llodra and Ernests Gulbis before falling to 4th seed and eventual finalist David Ferrer in the third round.^[31] After the tournament, Raonic rose to a new career-high ranking of 28, his first time in the top 30. It is also his 7th week in the top 50. He reached third round at the 2011 Barcelona Open Banco Sabadell, and advanced to the semifinals at the 2011 Estoril Open (5th seeded there, he disposed of Igor Andreev in the first round, of João Sousa in the second round, and upset Gilles Simon in the quarterfinal before retiring due to a back injury against Fernando Verdasco 4–6 0–0).

On grass courts, Raonic's reached quarterfinals at the 2011 Gerry Weber Open by taking out both Pablo Andujar and Tobias Kamke in straight sets before losing to Philipp Petzschner in three. In doubles with partner Robin Hasse, he reached his first ATP World Tour doubles final. The pair lost to Rohan Bopanna and Aisam-Ul-Haq Qureshi (the nicknamed "Indo-Pak Express") 9–11 in the deciding tie-break. At Wimbledon 31st seeded Milos advanced to the second round after disposing of Marc Gicquel. However in his second round match Raonic had to retire after winning 3 games in the first set due to injury.

Tennis Canada announced that Raonic underwent hip surgery. Raonic returned to action following the US Open, where he was defeated by Israel's Amir Weintraub in Canada's Davis Cup matchup. He reached the semifinals at 2011 If Stockholm Open (lost to Gaël Monfils).

2012[link]

On January 8, he won his second ATP title at the 2012 Aircel Chennai Open in Chennai, India, defeating Janko Tipsarević in the final, 6–7, 7–6, 7–6. Raonic did not drop serve during the tournament, becoming the first player to do so since Roger Federer at the 2008 Gerry Weber Open. Later in January, Raonic advanced to the third round of the 2012 Australian Open, disposing of Filippo Volandri of Italy and Philipp Petzschner of Germany. He was beaten by Lleyton Hewitt of Australia 1 set to 3 (6–4, 3–6, 6–7, 3–6) in 3 hours 6 minutes, after going to deuce (5) for the match point.

On February 19 in San Jose, California, Raonic won his third ATP title and second SAP Open in a row, defeating Denis Istomin, 7–6, 6–2.^[32]

The following week in Memphis, Raonic reached the final of the Regions Morgan Keegan Championships for the second straight year, losing to Jürgen Melzer, 5-7, 6-7.^[33]

In Indian Wells, Raonic reached the third round, before losing to eventual title winner Roger Federer in three sets, 7–6, 2–6, 4–6. He was one of only two opponents who forced Federer to a third set in this tournament.

In April, Raonic participated at Monte-Carlo Masters, but lost in the first round to Albert Montañés in three sets, 2–6, 6–3, 3–6. He reached semifinals at 2012 Barcelona Open Banco Sabadell by defeating world No.4 Andy Murray in straight sets in the quarter finals.

Equipment[link]

Raonic endorses the Wilson BLX Blade 98 and he uses LUXILON M2 Pro 1.25 16L Strings. He also endorses Lacoste clothing and wears SAP AG on his sleeve. ^[34]

Grand Slam performance timeline[link]

To prevent confusion and double counting, information in this table is updated only once a tournament or the player's participation in the tournament has concluded. This table is current through the 2012 Australian Open.

Awards[link]

2011 – ATP Newcomer of the Year

Colour commentating[link]

Raonic worked for Rogers Sportsnet as a colour analyst for their broadcast of the 2011 Rogers Cup. He said he enjoyed that experience quite a bit. ^[35]

Personal[link]

Raonic moved together with his family to Canada at the age of 3 from Titograd, Yugoslavia or what is now Podgorica, Montenegro.^[6] Raonic started playing tennis at the age of 8 at the Blackmore Tennis club in Richmond Hill, Ontario with coach, Casey Curtis.^[36] Growing up in the suburbs of Toronto, Ontario, Raonic stated how Canada is mostly a hockey country. He says he chose tennis because of its "individuality and [because he] felt [he] could train more alone and on a ball machine with [his] dad".^[37] His brother Momir, and sister Jelena, have moved back to Montenegro and Raonic says he visits his family there often.^[6] Raonic's uncle Branimir Gvozdenović used to be the Minister of Urbanism and Environmental Protection in the Government of Montenegro where he also performed the vice-prime minister duties.^[17][38] His parents live in Canada and are both engineers, his father Dusan holds a PhD in engineering and his mother Vesna has a masters degree in the same field, while his sister also has a masters degree.^[6] Raonic is fluent in two languages, speaking both Serbian and English.^[1] His three favourite sports teams are Real Madrid C.F., Toronto Raptors, and Toronto Maple Leafs.^[1][39]

In an interview after his third round win at the 2011 Australian Open it was questioned if he would follow in the footsteps of Greg Rusedski the last great Canadian tennis player who ended up playing for his second nationality in Great Britain. When asked if he would continue to play for Canada he replied "Yes".^[6] Raonic has shown a passion for Canada and the game of tennis in the country. This was displayed in an October, 2010 interview where he said of the matter that "I want to make a singles career, I enjoy it more and I want to make a difference in Canada with it. I feel if I were to achieve my goals it could make a great difference to the growth of tennis in Canada and help to produce more top players in the future."^[40]

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Milos Raonic

• Milos Raonic at the Association of Tennis Professionals
• Milos Raonic at the International Tennis Federation
• Milos Raonic at the Davis Cup
• Milos Raonic on Twitter

Awards
Preceded by Tobias Kamke	ATP Newcomer of the Year 2011	Succeeded by Incumbent

v t e Association of Tennis Professionals: Top ten Canadian male singles tennis players as of May 28, 2012 1. Milos Raonic (22 ) · 2. Vasek Pospisil (101 1) · 3. Frank Dancevic (120 ) · 4. Peter Polansky (183 1) · 5. Érik Chvojka (238 1) 6. Pierre-Ludovic Duclos (260 3) · 7. Steven Diez (307 6) · 8. Filip Peliwo (572 2) · 9. Philip Bester (596 5) · 10. Milan Pokrajac (800 13)

v t e Association of Tennis Professionals: Top ten Canadian male doubles tennis players as of May 28, 2012 1. Daniel Nestor (1 ) · 2. Adil Shamasdin (81 ) · 3. Vasek Pospisil (203 ) · 4. Pierre-Ludovic Duclos (255 5) · 5. Milos Raonic (262 2) 6. Érik Chvojka (315 9) · 7. Peter Polansky (444 6) · 8. Steven Diez (539 5) · 9. Milan Pokrajac (555 8) · 10. Kamil Pajkowski (618 93)

v t e Association of Tennis Professionals: Top ten male singles tennis players from the Americas as of May 28, 2012 1. Juan Martín del Potro (9 ) · 2. Mardy Fish (10 ) · 3. John Isner (11 ) · 4. Juan Mónaco (15 ) · 5. Milos Raonic (22 ) 6. Andy Roddick (33 4) · 7. Carlos Berlocq (37 ) · 8. David Nalbandian (40 ) · 9. Juan Ignacio Chela (44 1) · 10. Santiago Giraldo (50 1)