Tennis: Milos Raonic Takes On Lleyton Hewitt at Australian Open

Milos Raonic has been quietly building up momentum through the first two rounds of the Australian Open in Melbourne. Home favorite Lleyton Hewitt is next up for the man dubbed the Canadian Sampras. A win there and Raonic could set up a dream fourth round battle with World #1 Novak Djokovic.

So far so good
Type Milos Raonic’s name into YouTube and ‘Milos Raonic Serve’ appears right at the top of search options. It comes as little surprise when the 21 year old #23 seed is already considered one of the finest servers in the game.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zkgZOvm7ySA[/youtube]

After dropping just six games in his opening round match with Filippo Volandri, the Thornhill, Ontario player was forced to a fourth set by Philipp Petzchner. The German was a quarter finalist in Melbourne last year and has previously won doubles majors at Wimbledon and the US Open. Unsurprisingly Petzchner has proven a tough early round opponent for big guns in the past. Raonic however showed great composure after dropping the second set to close out the match.

Hewitt in his sights
Raonic is a rising star in this sport but when Lleyton Hewitt was his age the Australian had already climbed the mountain top. At the dawn of the new millennium, it was Hewitt who looked poised to dominate the sport. With wins at the US Open in 2001 and Wimbledon in 2002, the controversial Australian stood atop of the ATP standings. His fall since those dizzying heights has been maddening.

Hewitt’s last Grand Slam final came in Melbourne back in 2005, but he hasn’t gone further than the fourth round since. Hewitt’s last quarter final in any major came in 2009 at Wimbledon but, as so often has been the case, it was a flash in the pan rather than a comeback. Now the Australian finds himself in a familiar position, desperately in search of answers while staring down a young contender.

How far can Raonic go?
Canada’s #1 should have the game to overcome Hewitt. His decisive power advantage should overcome whatever veteran savvy the home favorite has left in the tank. That would set up a fourth round match with Djokovic, assuming the Serb overcomes marathon man Nicolas Mahut. Tennis betting fans know Raonic has game but right now he is Luke Skywalker in The Empire Strikes Back. He might be able to put up a good fight against Darth Vader but he’s coming out on the losing end. Should the breaks go that way this tournament will have no effect on Raonic’s ranking. A big display against Djokovic may however do wonders for his confidence.

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