World number nine Milos Raonic was upset in the round of sixteen at the French Open, but that was hardly the biggest headline surrounding the Canadian in Paris. Just before his loss, Raonic announced that former world number one John McEnroe would be joining his coaching staff for the grass court season.
This was surprising for a number of reasons, the main one being the fact that Raonic already has two coaches: Ricardo Piatti and Carlos Moya. Under this tag team, the Canadian has had his best season to date. So why bring in McEnroe? What can Raonic gain under the guidance of the three-time Wimbledon champion?
It’s all about grass
The obvious reason for Raonic wanting to work with McEnroe is the fact that Raonic has built a style of tennis that is supposed to succeed on grass. A big serve, huge strokes, and efficient volleys should make the Canadian a big threat on the lawns of Wimbledon. However, apart from his semifinal run at the All-England club in 2014, Raonic has generally struggled on grass.
Having grown up watching Pete Sampras dominate on the grass at Wimbledon, Raonic has always tried to emulate his hero. McEnroe, who is one of the greatest Wimbledon champions of the Open Era, has tons of experience to draw on and clearly understands how to win on grass. Raonic wants to learn what McEnroe knows so that he can finally achieve his dream. It’s simple. McEnroe was hired to help Raonic win Wimbledon.
Movement
For a man standing at 6’5, Raonic moves fairly well. However, he could still improve his movement in towards the net. This is an area where McEnroe could help him greatly. There are few tennis players in history who moved from the baseline to the net as quickly and as efficiently as McEnroe. This is a skill that the Canadian needs to learn. Once he’s into the net, Raonic is near-impassable with his massive reach. He has great touch which makes him incredibly deadly.
However, getting to the net can be the problem. On the grass, it can be less of an issue since his approach shots tend to draw weaker returns on the quick grass, but on clay, he was constantly caught stranded in no man’s land by opponents ripping early low passing shots. Raonic rarely won those points. It’s a situation he needs to avoid and McEnroe can help him improve his forward movement so that he can be at the net quicker and avoid getting caught.
Tactics
Even in his prime, McEnroe did not have a big serve, powerful shots, or a huge amount of variation. Raonic is already arguably a stronger player in that he has more options with his serve and shots. So why was McEnroe so much more successful by the age of 25 (Raonic’s current age)? Because the great American was one of the most tactically intelligent players in the history of the game. He may not have had the best shots, but he knew exactly what to do with the weapons that he possessed.
Raonic’s serve is already one of the best in the game and is considered by many to be one of the greatest of all time. He has power, accuracy, spin and disguise which makes those elements all the more dangerous. He can do anything with his serve. But he does not always necessarily do the right thing with it. For example, in his five-set loss to Kei Nishikori at the 2014 US Open, he stubbornly kept attacking the Japanese’s stronger backhand. Raonic needs to learn how to use his serve to be as effective as possible. This is something that McEnroe can help with.
Beyond just the serve, McEnroe has an understanding of how to set up a point on grass. The former world number one can help Raonic master the art of the serve of volley, or teach him when and how to charge the net. He can even help the Canadian with where to place shots at certain moments, when to attack and when to be patient. Raonic has earned most of his success in his career with raw power. At majors, and most of the time on grass, this has not been enough. The tactical game he can learn from McEnroe will lead to more success.
Teach what Moya can’t
There is no question that Raonic’s main coach, Carlos Moya, has had a massive impact on the Canadian’s game this year and can be thanked for most of his improvement and results. Under Moya’s guidance, Raonic has been playing smarter tennis and showing far more consistency with his groundstrokes. These adjustments have allowed the Canadian to achieve some of the best results of his career so far this season.
However, the first half of the season was played on the slow courts that Moya, also a former world number one, enjoyed during his pro career. His expertise would be aimed at this half of the season. And while Raonic has benefitted greatly, apart from mental strength, Moya does not have a lot to offer the Canadian on the grass, where the Spaniard struggled during his career.
It makes a ton of sense to bring in a fast court expert like McEnroe when your coach is a slow court master like Moya. All these tactical and physical elements that McEnroe can help with are some that Moya cannot. McEnroe also brings a history of success on grass that Raonic can learn from, just as the Canadian surely gleaned a lot from Moya success on the early slow courts.
Help to win Wimbledon
Raonic himself has made no secret about why he brought McEnroe in. Following the announcement, Raonic explained that "I want to improve at coming forward and I want to improve at putting more pressure on my opponents. If you see great volleyers, most of the time the volleys are pretty easy and it's because of positioning. It's those things that I want to [improve], those instincts where I put myself in the court, how I position myself.”
McEnroe knows exactly what the goal is. He himself said, “Milos Raonic can win majors. He’s one of five or six guys that can win Wimbledon.” With the American legend’s guidance, Raonic puts himself in a great position to claim a major title on the lawns of Wimbledon in the upcoming weeks.