3) Milos Raonic
At 26, one might not necessarily describe Milos Raonic as ‘young.’
But with growing experience of playing at the top 20 level for the past four seasons, the 6ft 4in Canadian has finally managed to make his big breakthrough this year. Until a couple of seasons back, Raonic was just one of those "servebots", with a poor ground game and sluggish movement.
This is further confirmed by stats, which say that Raonic wins 91% of his service games on an average, which is the 3rd highest in the Open Era. But with dedicated work on his fitness in the past couple of years, Raonic has immensely improved his return game and movement as well. This has enabled him to finish the year ranked 3rd, only behind Murray and Djokovic, having started the year ranked 14.
Raonic started his 2016 season with a bang, beating Roger Federer in straight sets in the finals at Brisbane, avenging his loss against the Swiss Maestro in the Brisbane final the previous year.
Asked about Raonic after the match, Federer observed: "For a big guy he moves really well. He's improved his fitness the last few years. Also, tactically, I think he's better now than he's ever been."
Raonic later upset Stan Wawrinka in the 4th round of the Australian Open on his way to the semi-finals, where he lost in five sets to the then world no. 2, Andy Murray. His run at the Open made him the first Canadian man to reach the semi-finals at the Australian Open.
Raonic also reached the final of the Indian Wells Masters, an ATP 1000 tournament, losing in the final to Novak Djokovic, and performed fairly consistently in the clay court swing, reaching quarter-finals at Monte Carlo and Madrid, a marked area of improvement for him, given that clay is his worst surface.
The Canadian continued his great form into the grass season, advancing to his first grass court final at the prestigious Queen's Club Championships, losing the final to Andy Murray in three sets. He performed remarkably well at Wimbledon too, reaching the first Grand Slam final of his career, and beating Federer in the semi-finals in an epic five-setter before losing to Andy Murray in straight sets in the final.
As a result of his consistent performances throughout the season, Raonic earned himself a spot at the season ending ATP World Tour Finals event in London. He came second in his group behind Djokovic, thus qualifying for the semi-finals, where he lost to Andy Murray in the longest match in the history of the World Tour Finals, lasting 3 hours and 38 minutes.
After having become the first Canadian male to reach a Grand Slam final, Raonic looks set to do big things in 2017, where one can expect him to consistently challenge for the Grand Slams and Masters trophies.
Having split from Spanish former No. 1 Carlos Moya, he hired former Wimbledon champion, Richard Krajicek, as coach, to help him in this endeavor, after having parted ways with John McEnroe earlier this year. Raonic will look to start his 2017 season on a good note by defending the title he won in Brisbane last year.
