Milos Raonic believes he can do more with his already powerful serve. Thursday, he showed just what he means.
Seeded third in the Brisbane International, Canada's top men's player delivered 17 aces in a 6-3, 6-4 victory over Mikhail Kukushkin of Kazakhstan in his first match of 2015.
In reviewing his strong 2014 campaign, Raonic said after the match, "We definitely thought I could do a lot better with my serve, so we spent a lot of time this off season on that and I'm happy that it's going well."
With his stronger serve and fortified by his best pro season, Raonic is hunting for better results in the year's premiere tennis events.
"That's the biggest goal I've set for myself, is to do much better in specifically one major," Raonic said. "I've been in a semifinal now, but I can do much better."
He was in the final four at Wimbledon and the French Open quarterfinals.
Raonic, 24, and compatriots Eugenie Bouchard and Vasek Pospisil give Canada its strongest international contingent in the open era.
About that serve: It was a weapon for Raonic last year, when he was third behind Ivo Karlovic and American John Isner with 954 aces. Now, observers believe, Raonic is making even harder first serves.
While understating his service prowess — "I served well, he said — Raonic added more on his offseason.
I’ve put a lot of work in technically and on a lot of things, so I feel better as tennis player. I feel much stronger and fitter," Raonic said.
“I also spent a lot of time sort of discussing and consulting with my team about the mental side, what I need to do to make the next step forward, especially in the big events.”
Ranked eighth in the world, Raonic has a shot to make a run at the Australian Open. More likely, his success will come at Wimbledon, for which is game is perfectly suited. Do not, however, dismiss his ability to repeat on the French Open's slow clay or the fast hard surfaces at Melbourne and the U.S. Open.
Contributing: CBC Sports, Globe & Mail of Toronto