Everybody Loves Milos Raonic: A local tennis star goes global

While most twenty-somethings remain uncertain about their plans for the future, the answer is clear for Milos Raonic, 21: “I don’t want anything more than to succeed and make big things in tennis,” he said in a recent Tennis Canada teleconference.

Ranked 25th in the world, the Montenegro-born Canadian is certainly on his way to doing so. With a killer serve (he hit nearly 250 kilometres per hour at the SAP Open in San Jose this past February), a towering 6-foot-5 advantage, and praise from legends Andre Agassi and John McEnroe, he’s quickly shaping up as the real deal.

“It’s a great source of pride for us to have one of the world’s top tennis players come from our school and our city,” says Adam Saperia, a fellow graduate of Thornhill Secondary School (TSS) and Read more

Andre Agassi: BREAK, FAULT, LOVE

At his last Wimbledon appearance in 2006, the same tournament that embraced him with his first Grand Slam win, he stepped onto the sacred grounds of the All England Club wearing a necklace given to him by his son, a choker of block letters spelling ‘Daddy Rocks.’ He certainly did cause seismic effect in his young days, juxtaposing the very essence of tennis refinement by sporting hot lava tights, denim shorts and mullet toupees. During that tumultuous period of his life, however, he was just a boy, tormented by his hate for the lonely sport of tennis; a man-child choked by his unfound identity while finding his volleys and fine-tuning his backhand. Long before his departure from the game, the American athlete did break free from breaking convention with the clothes his enthusiasts often imitated; with John Varvatos and the sentimental accessory that spheres his neck now part of his signature look. He didn’t know then who he was as he took centre court, but the sport and his devotees certainly Read more