There is an interesting debate going on in Canadian tennis circles right now. Who is Canada's top tennis player? Should it be Daniel Nestor, who is a doubles specialist with a remarkable resume or should it be rising singles star Milos Raonic?
Let's take a look at the credentials of both.
Nestor, has won six Grand Slam Men's Doubles titles and two Grand Slam Mixed Doubles Titles, the most recent with Katarina Srebotnik of Slovenia at the Australian Open this past weekend. On the singles side Nestor has head some historic victories in his career including wins over Stefan Edberg, Patrick Rafter and Marcelo Rios.
Raonic, meanwhile came on to the spotlight over the past month, and remarkably made it to the round of sixteen at the Australian Open after wins over Mikhail Youzhny, Michael Llodra and Bjorn Phau. He has seen his world ranking climb 58 spots in a short period of time to number 94 in the world.
Then today, Raonic knocked off Yen-Hsun Lu of Chinese Taipei in the first round of the South African Open. Raonic had to go through qualifying, while Lu was ranked second.
What has made Raonic so popular on the international sporting scene in a short period of time is his serve. At the Australian Open he delivered 94 aces in only four matches, the most among the 128 players in the main draw.
Raonic also caught the eye of ESPN's Brad Gilbert, who said, "Once his career is done, Milos Raonic will be Canada's best tennis player ever."
However, right now my pick for Canada's best tennis player is still Daniel Nestor. Why? Well he has a gold medal to his credit. Nestor won Olympic Gold with Sebastien Lareau in men's doubles at the 2000 Summer Olympic Games in Sydney. Also, his recent win at the Australian Open shouldn't be diminished just because he was playing mixed doubles.
Until Raonic wins a Grand Slam title or Olympic Gold, Nestor will get my vote.
Comments
Daniel Nestor is Canada's best tennis player by far. It's nice to see Milos Raonic rise, but it will be a while before he surpasses Nestor's accomplishments/
It depends on how you define 'best'. Nestor is Canada's most accomplished tennis player, without question. But singles and doubles are a bit different. Greg Rusedski is still Canada's highest ever ranked singles player I think, when he reached #37 before defecting to Britain. But who's the best player right now? If you put Nestor and Roanic out on the court for a best of 3, Raonic wins in straight sets, no question.
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