Kei Nishikori
錦織 圭

Kei Nishikori at the 2011 French Open
Full name	Kei Nishikori
Country	Japan
Residence	Bradenton, Florida, United States
Born	(1989-12-29) 29 December 1989 (age 22) Matsue, Shimane, Japan
Height	1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)
Weight	68 kg (150 lb)
Turned pro	2007
Plays	Right-handed (two-handed backhand)
Career prize money	US$ 1,594,955[1]
Singles
Career record	67–56 (in ATP World Tour and Grand Slam main draw matches, and in Davis Cup)
Career titles	1 (ATP World Tour and Grand Slam)
Highest ranking	No. 16 (March 19, 2012)
Current ranking	No. 17 (April 2, 2012)
Grand Slam Singles results
Australian Open	QF (2012)
French Open	2R (2010, 2011)
Wimbledon	1R (2008, 2010, 2011)
US Open	4R (2008)
Doubles
Career record	7–11 (in ATP World Tour and Grand Slam main draw matches, and in Davis Cup)
Career titles	0 (ATP World Tour and Grand Slam)
Highest ranking	No. 181 (November 7, 2011)
Current ranking	No. 183 (January 30, 2012)
Grand Slam Doubles results
Australian Open	A
French Open	2R (2011)
Wimbledon	2R (2011)
US Open	A
Last updated on: January 30, 2012.

Kei Nishikori (錦織 圭, Nishikori Kei^?) (born 29 December 1989 in Matsue, Shimane, Japan) is a Japanese tennis player, currently ranked World No. 17 as of April 2, 2012. He began playing tennis at the age of five and qualified for his first ATP main draw event at the Countrywide Classic in Los Angeles, California at the age of 17.^{[citation needed]}

Career[link]

Junior career[link]

Nishikori won the 2004 title at the Riad 21 Tournament in Rabat, Morocco and was a quarterfinalist at the 2006 Junior French Open. He partnered with Emiliano Massa to win the 2006 Junior French Open. Nishikori won the 2007 Luxilon Cup held at the 2007 Sony Ericsson Open by defeating Michael McClune.

2006[link]

Nishikori qualified and won the title at the ITF Futures event in Mazatlán, Mexico. He began the year by receiving a wildcard to the Kyoto Challenger in Kyoto, Japan.

2007[link]

A finalist in two USTA Pro Circuit events, Nishikori lost to Donald Young in Little Rock, Arkansas and Alex Bogomolov, Jr. in Carson, California. He partnered with Donald Young to win the doubles title at Little Rock. He paired with triple-French Open champion Gustavo Kuerten at the Sony Ericsson Open in Miami, Florida, where they lost in the first round. Nishikori served as a hitting partner for Roger Federer at Wimbledon.

After his ATP main draw debut in Los Angeles, he qualified for the Indianapolis Tennis Championships in July 2007. He beat Alejandro Falla in the first round, 6–4, 6–3, to record his first ATP main-draw win. He followed that up with a three-set win over Michael Berrer, the eliminator of seventh seed Robby Ginepri to advance to his first ATP quarterfinal. He lost to Dmitry Tursunov, but Nishikori became the youngest player to reach the quarterfinals at Indianapolis since Boris Becker, who went on to reach the semifinals in 1985.

In his third career ATP event, Nishikori defeated Teymuraz Gabashvili in the first round in Washington, D.C., before falling to Julien Benneteau in the second. He qualified for the ATP event in Beijing and lost in the first round to Ivan Ljubičić. Nishikori received a wildcard to the ATP event in Tokyo, Japan, where he lost in the first round to Zack Fleishman. He participated in the draw ceremony in Tokyo and received the Tokyo Sports Writers Club award. Nishikori represented Japan at the Asian Hopman Cup 2007 in Bangkok, Thailand.

2008[link]

Nishikori started the year by reaching the semifinals of the Miami challenger tournament. He then entered the Delray Beach tournament as a qualifier ranked no. 244. He gained entrance to the main draw by defeating Nicolas Todero and Alex Bogomolov Jr. In the first round, he defeated Florian Mayer due to a retirement in the second set. In the second round, Nishikri defeated Amer Delic, another qualifier. In the quarterfinals, he won against Bobby Reynolds. In the semifinals, he upset Sam Querrey. In the final, Nishikiori upset top seed James Blake in three sets, 3–6, 6–1, 6–4, to become the first Japanese man in nearly 16 years to win an ATP event.^[2] He lost in the first round of the Miami Masters to the Spanish player Albert Montañés. He faced James Blake again, this time at the River Oaks International tournament in Houston, Texas in the first round, but Kei lost 4–6, 4–6. He went out in the third round of the 2008 Queen's Club Championships against Rafael Nadal, 4–6, 6–3, 3–6, in just over two hours. Facing the world no. 2, Nishikori played well in the match and showed promise. His first Grand Slam appearance at the 2008 Wimbledon Championships on 23 June 2008 ended in a first-round forfeiture to French player Marc Gicquel. Suffering from an abdominal muscle strain, Nishikori retired after the second set, after winning the first set 6–4, but losing the second by 5–7. In August, he entered the Beijing Olympics on a wildcard.^[3] There, he lost in the first round to Rainer Schüttler of Germany.

Nishikori made his debut at the US Open, defeating 29th seeded Juan Mónaco, 6–2, 6–2, 5–7, 6–2, in the first round. He cruised to the third round, after downing Croatian Roko Karanušić. On 30 August 2008, he became the first Japanese player to reach the round of 16 at the US Open in 71 years, when he beat fourth seed David Ferrer in five sets, 6–4, 6–4, 3–6, 2–6, 7–5, in what was considered one of the tournament's major upsets. He lost his chance, however, to compete in the quarterfinals when he was beaten by 17th seed Juan Martín del Potro in straight sets, 3–6, 4–6, 3–6.

In the Japan Open Tennis Championships, he made it to the round of 16, before losing to Frenchman Richard Gasquet 1–6, 2–6.

Nishikori was given a wildcard for the Stockholm Open, where he made it to his second ATP level semifinal of the year, despite playing with a knee injury. He received a walkover in his quarterfinal match against Mario Ančić, who had to withdraw due to illness. In the semifinals, he was beaten by fourth seed Robin Söderling, 1–6, 0–6.

2009[link]

Nishikori made a disappointing start to the season, losing to Jürgen Melzer, 5–7, 2–6, 1–6, in the first round of the Australian Open. On 25 March, Nishikori was named 2008 ATP Newcomer of the Year and became the first Asian player to win the award.^[4] He withdrew from the French Open, Wimbledon, and the US Open because of an injured right elbow.

2010[link]

Kei made his comeback after his injury of the previous year. After receiving a wildcard at Delray Beach, he was beaten in the first round by Benjamin Becker. Kei returned to the Challenger tour later in April with great success, reaching quarterfinals at both Baton Rouge and Tallahassee events, followed by a victory at the Savannah Challenger over Ryan Sweeting, 6–4, 6–0, in the final. On 15 May 2010, he won the Sarasota open by defeating Brian Dabul, 2–6, 6–3, 6–4.

Nishikori played in his first French Open. He rebounded from two sets down to defeat Santiago Giraldo of Colombia in the first round, 2–6, 4–6, 7–6, 6–2, 6–4, but he lost his second match against Novak Djokovic, 1–6, 4–6, 4–6. He lost to Richard Gasquet in the first round of the 2010 AEGON Championships, 3–6, 3–6. At Wimbledon, he played second seed Rafael Nadal in the first round and lost, 2–6, 4–6, 4–6,

At the U.S. Open, the Japanese no. 1 met Croatian Marin Čilić in the second round. Nishikori ousted the 11th seed, 5–7, 7–6, 3–6, 7–6, 6–1, to advance to the third round, his best Grand Slam showing in 2010.

2011[link]

Nishikori at the 2011 Australian Open.

Nishikiori opened the season in Chennai, where he upset two-time defending champion Marin Čilić in the first round, before falling in the quarterfinals to Janko Tipsarević. In the 2011 Australian Open, Nishikori reached the third round. In the first round, he defeated Fabio Fognini of Italy, 6–1, 6–4, 6–7, 6–4. He then ousted Florian Mayer of Germany in the second round, 6–4, 6–3, 0–6, 6–3. His run was ended in the third round by ninth seed Fernando Verdasco of Spain, 2–6, 4–6, 3–6. After the third-round appearance in Melbourne, his ranking rose to no. 70. At the first two ATP Masters Series events of the year, Nishikori suffered a first-round loss in Indian Wells and a second-round loss in Miami. Nishikori then reached his second final at the 2011 U.S. Men's Clay Court Championships. He was defeated by American wildcard Ryan Sweeting. At Roland Garros, Nishikori lost in the second round to Sergiy Stakhovsky, 1–6, 6–3, 3–6, 6–7. He faced Lleyton Hewitt in the first round at Wimbledon, but lost in four sets, 1–6, 6–7, 7–6, 3–6. Nishikori then retired in his first-round match against Flavio Cipolla at the US Open. At the 2011 Shanghai Masters, Nishikori reached his first Masters 1000 semifinal. In the second round, he defeated Robin Haase in three sets, after losing the first set 0-6. In the third round, Nishikiori scored the biggest upset of the tournament by defeating fourth seed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, 6–7, 6–4, 6–4. Nishikiori followed up that impressive performance with another three-set victory, this time over Santiago Giraldo, 7–6, 4–6, 6–3. In the quarterfinals, Nishikori upset 12th-seeded Alexandr Dolgopolov in straight sets, 6–4, 6–3. He lost to no. 2 Andy Murray in his first Masters 1000 semifinal. He reached a career-high of world no. 30. In the Swiss Indoors Basel tournament Nishikori defeated an ailing world no. 1 Novak Djokovic to reach the final in three sets, 2–6, 7–6, 6–0, coming back from a 4–5, 0–30 deficit in the second set. The win was only Djokovic's fourth loss of the season, second loss in a completed match, and first loss of a completed match on a non-clay surface. On the heels of the victory, Nishikori was granted special exemption into the 2011 BNP Paribas Masters and achieved a ranking of world no. 24.

2012[link]

Nishikori started the season at the Brisbane International, where he lost in the second round to Marcos Baghdatis. At the Australian Open, Nishikori came back from a set down to defeat number sixth seed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga to reach the quarterfinals of the Australian Open, where he was then defeated by fourth seed Andy Murray. Nishikori was the first Japanese male player to reach the quarterfinals of the Australian Open in 80 years.^[5]

Personal[link]

Nishikori lives in Florida and trains at the Nick Bollettieri Tennis Academy. His parents are Kiyoshi and Eri, and he has a sister, Reina. His hobbies include baseball, golf, reading, and listening to music. He is represented by Olivier van Lindonk of IMG.
In the video game Grand Slam Tennis, Kei is classed as an all-court player, and his special ability is his endurance.

In December 2010, it was announced that Nishikori would be coached by Brad Gilbert for the 2011 season.^[6] Gilbert has also coached Andy Murray and former world no. 1s Andre Agassi and Andy Roddick.

Playing Style

Nishikori is well-known for his endurance during long matches. He uses a semi-western grip on his forehand and a combo of continental/semi-western for his backhand. He generally relies on his accurate groundstrokes to win matches. His serve is reliable but lack power at times. His game is describe as offensive baseliner with excellent depth and consistency.

Equipment[link]

Nishikori currently uses the Wilson BLX Steam 100 racquet and wears Uniqlo clothing and adidas Barricade 7.0 shoes. ^[7] He is also sponsored by Nissin Foods. He is often seen wearing a Cup Noodles badge on his sleeve during matches.

ATP Career Finals[link]

Singles: 3 (1–2)[link]

Outcome	No.	Date	Championship	Surface	Opponent	Score
Winner	1.	February 11, 2008	Delray Beach, United States	Hard	James Blake	3–6, 6–1, 6–4
Runner-up	1.	April 10, 2011	Houston, United States	Clay	Ryan Sweeting	4–6, 6–7(7–3)
Runner-up	2.	November 6, 2011	Basel, Switzerland	Hard (i)	Roger Federer	1–6, 3–6

Singles performance timeline[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Kei Nishikori

• Kei Nishikori at the Association of Tennis Professionals
• ITF Tennis Kei Nishikori
• ATP DEUCE Magazine: Project 45 No Longer A Secret
• Kei Nishikori Official Site
• Kei Nishikori Official Facebook Fanpage

v t e Association of Tennis Professionals: Top ten Japanese male singles tennis players as April 30, 2012 Kei Nishikori (17 ) Go Soeda (59 15) Tatsuma Ito (80 15) Yūichi Sugita (167 3) Hiroki Moriya (216 13) Yasutaka Uchiyama (348 6) Junn Mitsuhashi (369 6) Toshihide Matsui (423 19) Daniel Taro (428 1) Takuto Niki (475 24)

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)

Go Soeda
添田 豪

Country	Japan
Residence	Fujisawa, Kanagawa
Born	(1984-09-05) September 5, 1984 (age 27) Fujisawa, Japan
Height	1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)
Weight	67 kg (150 lb; 10.6 st)
Turned pro	2003
Plays	Right-handed (two-handed backhand)
Career prize money	$541,624
Singles
Career record	25–29
Career titles	0
Highest ranking	No. 58 (May 28, 2012)
Current ranking	No. 58 (May 28, 2012)
Grand Slam Singles results
Australian Open	1R (2007)
French Open	1R (2011, 2012)
Wimbledon	1R (2010, 2011)
US Open	1R (2011)
Doubles
Career record	4–7
Career titles	0
Highest ranking	No. 291 (November 10, 2008)
Last updated on: January 16, 2010.

Medal record
Competitor for  Japan
Men's Tennis
Asian Games
Bronze	2006 Doha	Singles
Silver	2006 Doha	Team
Bronze	2010 Guangzhou	Singles
Bronze	2010 Guangzhou	Team

Go Soeda (添田 豪, Soeda Gou^?, born September 5, 1984 in Fujisawa, Kanagawa) is a male Japanese tennis player. He is currently coached by Davide Sanguinetti.^[1]

He started playing tennis at the age of 4, and turned professional in April 2003.

Juniors[link]

Soeda reached a world junior ranking high of #20 in singles and #43 in doubles in late 2002.^[2]

Professional career[link]

Soeda entered the top-200 in singles in August 2006 and reached a career high of #179 in November 2006 before spending most of 2007 outside the top-200. He re-entered the top-200 in February 2008 and reached a career high #90 on April 11, 2011.

2002 to 2005[link]

Soeda began playing professional tournaments regularly in 2002, finishing the year ranked #883 in singles before turning professional in 2003. He rose steadily through the rankings over the next three years, finishing the year ranked #635 in 2003, #502 in 2004, and #302 in 2005.

2006[link]

Soeda had a very steady year at the Challenger level, reaching the quarterfinals or better 7 times, including the finals in Aptos, California in July and the semifinals in Ecuador in August. He also won the Japan F4 Futures, and finished 2006 ranked #188 in singles.

2007[link]

Soeda finished the 2nd half of 2007 strong, winning a Challenger-level tournament in August in Ecuador and reaching the final of a Challenger in Australia in November. He also won a Futures tournament in China in October. He finished 2007 ranked #206 in singles.

In doubles, he won a Challenger in Japan in November.

In Davis Cup play, he won all 4 of his singles matches in leading Japan to Asia/Oceania Zone Group 1 wins over China and Thailand, but lost both matches in Japan's World Group qualifying loss to Romania.

2008[link]

Soeda began the year with a quarterfinal finish in a Challenger in Hawaii in January to get back into the top-200. In February, he led Japan to a 5–0 win over the Philippines in Australia/Asia Zone Group 1 play, winning two singles and one doubles match.^[3]

2009[link]

2010[link]

2011[link]

2012[link]

2012 started for Go at the Chennai Open in impressive fashion, coming through qualifying before beating Frederico Gil, as well as 5th & 3rd seeds Ivan Dodig and Stanislas Wawrinka respectively. Go's best result in an ATP tournament came to end with a 1–6, 4–6 loss to top seed and ninth ranked Janko Tipsarevic in the semi-finals. Following the tournament Soeda moved up twenty-one places in the ATP Rankings to 99 and back into the top 100 for the first time since April 2011.

Singles Finals[link]

Outcome	No.	Date	Tournament	Surface	Opponent in the final	Score
Winner	1.	August 13, 2007	Manta, Ecuador	Hard	Eduardo Schwank	6–4, 6–2
Winner	2.	March 3, 2008	Kyoto, Japan	Carpet (i)	Matthias Bachinger	7–6, 2–6, 6–4
Winner	3.	April 14, 2008	Busan, South Korea	Hard	Yen-Hsun Lu	6–2, ret.
Winner	4.	May 19, 2008	New Delhi, India	Hard	Yen-Hsun Lu	6–3, 3–6, 6–4
Runner-up	5.	November 17, 2008	Yokohama, Japan	Hard	Hyung-Taik Lee	5–7, 3–6
Winner	6.	November 24, 2008	Toyota City, Japan	Carpet	Hyung-Taik Lee	6–2, 7–6(9–7)
Winner	7.	October 12, 2009	Tiburon, United States	Carpet	Ilija Bozoljac	3–6, 6–3, 6–2
Winner	8.	May 1, 2010	Manta, Ecuador	Hard	Ryler DeHeart	7–6(7–5), 6–2
Runner-up	9.	May 1, 2010	Nottingham, United Kingdom	Grass	Ricardas Berankis	4–6, 4–6
Winner	10.	March 27, 2011	Pingguo, China	Hard	Matthias Bachinger	6–4, 7–5
Winner	11.	July 31, 2011	Wuhai, China	Hard	Raven Klaasen	7–5, 6–4
Winner	12.	January 29, 2012	Honolulu, United States	Hard	Robby Ginepri	6–3, 7–6(7–5)
Runner-up	13.	March 4, 2012	Singapore, Singapore	Hard	Yen-Hsun Lu	3–6, 4–6
Winner	14.	March 18, 2012	Pingguo, China	Hard	Malek Jaziri	6–1, 3–6, 7–5
Winner	15.	April 29, 2012	Kaohsiung, Taiwan	Hard	Tatsuma Ito	6–3, 6–0

Singles Performance Timeline[link]