As Milos Raonic walked onto court for his opening match at the Thailand Open, something about him looked different.
Was it his outfit? No, don’t think so.
Maybe he got a haircut? No, that wasn’t it either.
Raonic looked small, despite measuring in at 6’5″. How is that possible? Well, his opponent was Ivo Karlovic and he’s the Yao Ming of tennis.
At 6’10” Karlovic is the tallest tennis player of all time. For most of Karlovic’s opponents, he’s a nightmare to play against. With Karlovic’s height, his serve is nearly impossible to return because of its power, height and bounce. Mostly thanks to his powerful serve, which has been clocked as high as 251km/hr, he reached a career-high ranking of No. 14 in the world in 2008.
When Karlovic joined the ATP Tour 12 years ago, he was a freak of nature — there were hardly any successful big men on tour. But times have changed.
In today’s top 15, only two players are shorter than 6’0″ and six of the top 15 are 6’5″ or taller.
In a sport that keeps getting faster, taller players are at an advantage. Much like Karlovic, Raonic can stay in matches and even win them because of his serve. Even if the rest of his game is failing him, Raonic’s serve can carry him through. Players like Marin Cilic, John Isner, Tomas Berdych and Juan Martin del Potro (all over 6’5″ and all in the top 15) have some of the most efficient and powerful serves on tour.
But while their height puts these friendly giants at an advantage in their service games, it puts them at a disadvantage elsewhere.
Let’s face it — Raonic, Isner and Karlovic look awkward on court. As they rush back and forth across the baseline, they look sluggish and almost appear to be moving in slow motion. Generally, tall players don’t have very good footwork — and if you don’t have good footwork, how are you supposed to beat the Big Four?
Novak Djokovic has the nicest footwork I’ve ever seen and Roger Federer floats across the court like a ballet dancer. At 6’2″ and 6’1″ respectively, Djokovic and Federer seem to have the perfect combination of height, agility, fitness and power and as the Big Four have proven, that’s what it takes to win. And regardless of height, the Big Four are the best returners in the game, so even Raonic’s serve doesn’t surprise or scare them.
Since 2006, del Potro is the only player outside of the Big Four to have won a Grand Slam. Del Potro is 6’6″ but moves better on court than most of his fellow big men. Not only that, but del Potro doesn’t just depend on his serve to win him matches – he has a wicked forehand that many players should be jealous of.
Unlike players like Karlovic and even Isner, Raonic has more to his game than just a big serve, and that’s why he’s the youngest player in the top 40. With Raonic’s killer forehand, developing net game and high tennis IQ, he’s bound to reach new heights by cracking the top 10 very soon.