Sports Nicknames - Maple Leaf Missile, Meatloaf

Milos Raonic was an exciting prospect in world tennis for much of the 2010s, as he rose to his highest career ranking in 2016. In the same year, he made it to the final of the Wimbledon Championships, while also reaching the semi-finals of the Australian Open Tennis tournament. What made Raonic a special and particularly convincing prospect in the tennis world was his ability to send down thunderbolt serves. This natural ability also fetched him some intriguing nicknames that remain a part of his portfolio even today.



The Childhood Nickname - Meatloaf

Casey Curtis remained an important influence in Milos Raonic's career and coached him for much of his early years. Casey revealed an interesting and adorable nickname for the Canadian star when he shared that Raonic was called Meatloaf in his childhood. This was perhaps because of the chubby look that came naturally to Raonic. However, Raonic has worked pretty hard on his fitness over the years and is now one of the more threatening players on the tennis courts. Raonic has developed a speedy serve which changed his nickname from Meatloaf to Missile.

The many forms of the same nickname:

All the other titles associated with Raonic are because of his speedy serves. Raonic possesses this unique ability to land highly accurate serves at a good pace, making him a tough competitor. These powerful and accelerated serves soon earned him the nickname 'Missile.'

Some people have simply called him Missile, while a more popular form is Missile Milos or Missile Raonic. A more pleasing term is Milos Missile Raonic, which various journalists have frequently used for the Canadian.

Pete Sampras is a huge fan of Raonic's serve and called it 'bigger than Big.' Not just him, Raonic's contemporary and an all-time GOAT, Djokovic also acknowledged the Canadian's ability and admitted that he felt helpless while returning the pacy serves of Raonic. The queen of women's tennis, Serene Williams, once commented that if there was one aspect of another player's tennis that she would want to take, it would be Raonic's Pacy Serve.

Canadian All-time Great:

Raonic achieved a career highest rank when he was ranked 3rd in the ATP rankings in 2016. This remains the highest ranking ever achieved by a Canadian Tennis Player. With this achievement, Raonic became a Canadian Tennis Icon, and people used the Canadian Emblem to garnish Raonic's nickname.

The term Maple Leaf Missile has regularly been used for Raonic as an acknowledgment of the Canadian's sheer pace and status.


Statistics and Records about his Serves.

Statistics also prove the effectiveness of his Missile serves. Overall, Raonic has won 91% of the service games and ranks 3rd in the all-time list of winning most service games.


Fastest Serve:

Raonic recorded the seventh fastest serve of all time when he clocked 249.9 kmph, equal to 155.3 mph, in his 2012 SAP open match.


Records and Performances:

Overall, Raonic has won 372 ATP tour matches and ranks 26th in all-time player earnings through prize money.

Until now, he has won 8 ATP tour titles and played in the finals of 4 ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Finals. He is the only Canadian player to reach the Australian Open semi-finals, the French Open quarter-finals, and the Final of Wimbledon in the open era.


Injuries and Comeback:

Recently, Raonic has struggled with Calf and Leg injuries but is hopeful about making a strong comeback to the highest level.

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