April 3, 2016

Milos Raonic

Milos Raonic

For the 10th straight year, I made the journey down to Key Biscayne in Miami for the men's and women's professional tennis tournament. We caught parts of 13 matches in two days. Whew! We kicked things off watching this guy -- Milos Raonic.  A Canadian, he's currently ranked #12 in the ATP standings.  He's tall for a tennis player (6'5") and a bit quirky, which makes it interesting to watch him in person.  He's the one who now wears a compression arm sleeve as a security blanket and, amazingly, his hair always stays in position.  Milos also has a tendency to stick his tongue out when he's concentrating.  (Gosh…I hope he doesn't inadvertently bite down on it when he's chasing a ball.) 

Milos Raonic

One my favorite things about this tournament is the proximity to the players. I snapped this shot of Milos just minutes after he defeated American Denis Kudla on Court #1. The crowd of fans was tight, and security personnel were moving people aside.  But, I made myself big and stood my ground when I saw Milos was coming right toward me. He was nice and paused just long enough for a couple of selfies with fans and signed a few autographs. 

Over the past several years, the tournament has struggled with an identity crisis, undergoing several name changes, and is now known as the Miami Open.  Now, a big controversy is swirling and word is...this may have been the last year for the tournament on Key Biscayne. It will be sad if that ends up being the case.  One way or the other, it's been a good run!  More pics to come.  

4 comments:

William Kendall said...

He gets a lot of press up here, of course. I didn't know he was that tall! Terrific shots!

Nancy J said...

What an opportunity, hope we get to see more players as the matches progress.

Kate said...

You certainly are an avid fan. Tennis player yourself I'll bet. How did this interest of yours develop?

Michelle said...

He does seem entertaining to watch!