Milos Raonic: There’s A Lot I Want To Achieve, That’s Why I Hired John McEnroe

Milos Raonic is more than a servebot – but being onboard for the last 3 years as a fan of his, he just won’t be in the league of Sampras or any of the big 4. He is superbright and has a work ethic that is second to none. Very coachable.
His hard work will reduce his limitations (mobility for example), hard work at conditioning may reduce his injuries, but will not get him to anything close to all time great status. And that is fine with me, as people that only cheer superstars miss the fun of going early with some teen from the Balkans with a then-unpronouncable name in 2007 that showed high potential, or an Argentinian the year after who was branded a servebot.

Milos is a worthy player to “adopt and root for, even if you are not Canadian for the qualities he does have, his A-level temperment. I said here 2 years go that I predict he will win a Major(Wimbledon). I’ll be rooting for him there once Djokovic who we can all pronounce now, is through 2016 winning all the big stuff (hopefully).
They are talking about speeding up Wimbledon a bit after Feds regular since 2008 complaints it should be sped up. If so, that will help Raonic.
Raonic can well be a future Hall of Famer.

May 30th, 2016 at 5:44 pm

This might spice up the tennis world indeed. Lets see whether he will begin to yell at the umpire in style :)

May 30th, 2016 at 5:59 pm

^ Lol Peter, but he doesn’t seem the type. Perhaps Mac will start yelling at the umpire again, but this time from the players’ box!
Mac needs to give Milos some wheels, but doubt he can.

May 31st, 2016 at 12:44 am

Is this the first time that one player will have two GS winners as his coaches in his box? At least Milos is not stingy, obviously. I just wonder how is Ljubicic “coaching” career going, looks like it is stalling…

May 31st, 2016 at 1:16 am

Agree with CF1 about Milos,

He is smart, eloquent, articulate and very likable young man, not surprisingly since both of his parents are highly educated with masters degrees, his siblings too, who are both back in Montenegro, permanently. Very strong and influential family (clan) in Montengro. His uncle was Vice President of the country and is now minister for sport and culture.

May 31st, 2016 at 1:27 am

Correction… if it is important at all, his uncle is now Minister of Sustainable Development and Tourism…they often rotate positions in Balkan governments, just to stay in ruling circles..all recycled politicians..;)

May 31st, 2016 at 1:54 am

@Wog Boy – Poor Ljubby hasn’t had a chance to work with Fed as Fed has been injured for the majority of time they’ve been working together.

May 31st, 2016 at 12:07 pm

I like Raonic’s commitment to the game and to improving. It already showed to be working to his favor earlier this year. But I worry about his ongoing ab and leg injuries. Similar to what I’ve said about some of the WTA players, I wonder if he would be better off just sitting out a few weeks to mend properly.

May 31st, 2016 at 12:08 pm

Mac was a great athlete with pretty much unmatched dexterity. A man born with talent that can’t be taught. Milos is a hard work talent. It may therefore be difficult for Milos to implement what John wants him to do. We’ll see. the best coaches help you to get the best out of what you have. I don’t think this partnership will last long.

May 31st, 2016 at 12:50 pm

And RZ’s right. The persistent nagging injuries that are now common for Milos won’t help him when he gets to grass. Grass isn’t friendly to heavy footed giants. As a Canadian, I’d love to see Milos win a slam and I do think Wimbledon looks ideal for that win to happen. But, he’ll need a favorable draw and good health to get it done.

May 31st, 2016 at 12:53 pm

As Charlie Munger said, “you can’t buy your thinking (talent) done in this world from advisors”

It’s nice to see he’s trying everything, but think about the cognitive dissonance that will prevail in a partnership of 3 coaches with egos and their version of what is right. If it doesn’t work, they’ve made money and can go to another charge, since “he just didn’t have the talent to pull it off my wise counsel.” If it works out, they win as well.

Whereas for Milos, the downside is a cluttered head of ideas, when what he really needs to add is obvious: pierre paganini reincarnate (fed’s physical trainer). If Wawrinka, not the best movers by any stretch, can finds ways to get in position right, so can Raonic.

Indeed, people often forget this, but Federer was not initially known as one of the best movers. He’s always been explosive and his footwork always seemed fluid, but he’s not naturally someone who could get a ball if he wasn’t in proper position / state of anticipation. Maybe that’s a natural gift (Wayne Gretzky-esque), but I’d like to think the guy worked exceptionally hard at it in his youth. Improvement is possible. Nevertheless, there might be an x-factor which he’s simply lacking (the supernatural timing, occasional sampras-esque forehand etc etc so above comments are right in that sense).

May 31st, 2016 at 2:13 pm

I look forward to the honorable JMac walking from the stands to the court and slapping both the Canadiavic and the umpire. That will be a fitting end.

May 31st, 2016 at 3:56 pm