Shoe fits for Raonic as ace targets no slip-ups
MILOS RAONIC changes his shoes, sometimes twice, during his matches at Wimbledon to avoid slips and the big Canadian maintained his sure-footed progress to stride into the fourth round. The sixth seed, runner-up last year to Andy Murray, was given a decent workout by Spain’s Albert Ramos-Vinolas but his extra firepower proved decisive as he won 7-6 6-4 7-5. Raonic (left) will face fast-rising The world No.4 was on top form once again to crush Latvian Ernests Gulbis, a player who is ranked a massive 585 places below him. Djokovic’s sweeping 6-4 6-1 7-6 victory was given the full seal of approval by coach Agassi, the American former Wimbledon winner credited with guiding the former world No.1 through his recent slump. The eight-time Grand Slam champion (right) returned to the sport he left in 2006 to work alongside the Serb in the pursuit of further glory. Having held all four majors at once – only the third man to achieve such a feat – Djokovic lost his way, losing all four of his Grand Slam titles and slipping off his perch at the top of the ATP rankings. In May the 12-time Grand Slam champion confirmed he had started working alongside the 1992 SW19 champ, although their relationship remains informal, with no financial incentive for the American. Agassi believes he is the man to guide Djokovic back to the top and vast improvements from their time together are there to see. Former Wimbledon champion and now TV pundit Boris Becker, once his coach, said: “Novak didn’t just want German youngster Alexander Zverev next, when some more changes of footwear might be needed to stay on course for the latter stages.
“You have the little pimples on the bottom of the shoes,” Raonic said. “New shoes probably have fresher pimples.” Raonic, 26, appears to be back in the groove as he continues his search for a maiden Grand Slam title. Such was his confidence he even smacked down a second serve ace at 138mph.
“I was holding serve pretty comfortably so I had a little bit of freedom to experiment there,” he said.
Raonic will need all aspects of his game working well against 10th seed Zverev, 20, who won their only previous meeting on the clay in Rome this year.
“He’s made good strides over the last few years, especially over the last 16 months, with his game,” Raonic said.
And he added: “I definitely would like to play him on grass.”