A 20-year-old Canadian with a blistering serve has broken through into the top tier of international tennis.
On Sunday night, Milos Raonic of Thornhill, Ont., became the first Canadian to win an ATP (Association of Tennis Professionals) championship since 1995, when Greg Rusedski made headlines.
Raonic dismantled defending champion Fernando Verdasco 7-6, 7-5 to win the San Jose, Calif. tournament.
The six-foot-five Raonic delivered scorching serves, forcing the veteran Spaniard back and throwing him off his game with serves up to 240 kilometres per hour.
Raonic dug deep for the victory, winning hard-fought tiebreakers in both the first and second sets against Verdasco, the world's ninth-ranked tennis player.
Last month, Raonic gave notice that he was serious about his career. At the Australian Open in Melbourne he surprised many by making it to the fourth round before losing to David Ferrer, the No. 7 seed.
He went into Melbourne ranked 152nd but came into the San Jose tourney ranged 84th. After last night's win he has a vastly improved ranking of 59th -- and a reputation as someone to watch out for.
Raonic's mother Vesna Raonic, reached in Toronto's Thornhill neighbourhood, told CTV News Channel she had high hopes for her son going into the final. But she said even she was astounded at what he managed to accomplish on Sunday night.
"We believed in Milos but Verdasco is a great player and Milos needed to play perfect to beat him, but he did it last night," she said.
"We are so excited I even cannot explain how happy we are for him. He is just doing what he loves to do and he's happy."
Raonic telephoned his mother and sister from the court moments after winning, before speaking with the press, she said.
"I was surprised when he called because you expect he is busy but he knows what it means to us and he did it, I cannot explain what it means to us," she said.
Raonic, who was born in Montenegro and moved to Canada at age three, offered a humble victory speech when he finally took to the microphone to say a few words.
"I can't stop smiling," Raonic said. "I'm happy about it and I hope I can keep it going more than six weeks, for a full year schedule, and see where I am at the end of the year."
The Canadian was awarded US$93,000 for his weekend win. According to his profile on the Australian Open website, his entire career winnings going into that tournament was only US$124,433
Raonic's mother said her son's star may be rising fast, but he's ready for the spotlight.
"You can see last night how he's managing stress and everybody -- it's pretty amazing. He's a smart guy and he's always ready, I think he's totally ready, he can manage it."
