Brad Gilbert working with Milos at Roland Garros

[batz]

According to Neil Harman. I think this could be good for Milos.

[Rock Strongo]

This could be what he really needs. Hope they go long term!

[Gonzalito17]

Did not see this coming but like the idea. BG has an awfully big price tag, he better earn it.

[THUNDERVOLLEY]

Interesting...........

[tudwell]

Brad Gilbert could do great things with Milos, I think.

[Bartelby]

Waste of money.

[Amelie Mauresmo]

Milos actually doesn't pay for his coaching Tennis Canada does. Tennis Canada is the organization who paid Galo Blanco to be Milos Raonic coach. Tennis Canada knows Milos is the face of Canadian tennis so they know he's a good investment.

I think people are getting their hopes up, it could just be a trial kind of thing, with Brad Gilbert at the French Open. I applaud Milos for having the intelligence to see he needed a change from Galo Blanco. Galo has done well with Milos making him more consistent getting into the top twenty. However, now Milos needs a fresh set of eyes, someone to see where he needs to really improve. I hope even if it is for a shot period of time that Brad Gilbert can give Milos some advice hope he takes it.

[President]

Brad Gilbert is going to try to make Milos into the new 2004 Andy Roddick! Would be a refreshing sight at the top of the game, although I think Roddick had a killer instinct and champion's mentality that Milos lacks.

[Amelie Mauresmo]

Originally Posted by President

Brad Gilbert is going to try to make Milos into the new 2004 Andy Roddick! Would be a refreshing sight at the top of the game, although I think Roddick had a killer instinct and champion's mentality that Milos lacks.

Milos also has a better serve than Roddick, and since when did Roddick have a killer instinct you mean when he cried and whined like a baby on the tennis court? If anything Roddick proved how immature and emotionally imbalanced he was on the tennis court.

I think Milos is actually more mentally tough than Roddick he deals with tough situations well he doesn't ***** and complain to the chair umpire or cry about line calls.

I am not sure Brad Gilbert is the right coach for Milos I actually prefer Milos to be coached by a European because I think that's Milos mentality. Milos doesn't have that American in your face bad attitude which Ryan Harrison or Andy Roddick have.

[sureshs]

Milos will achieve this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wUaMzsNKR7Q

[hisrob777]

Originally Posted by sureshs

Milos will achieve this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wUaMzsNKR7Q

Haha. Love it!

[uncooling]

how much is Brad's hourly wage??

[GRANITECHIEF]

Lundgren would probably have been better, but Brad does have lots of experience and has taken a player to #1 and to grand slam victory.

I think its a great move but we shouldn't expect to see much of a difference at Roland Garros. But who knows, BG is great with the x's and o's.

[tennisplayer1993]

Originally Posted by GRANITECHIEF

Lundgren would probably have been better, but Brad does have lots of experience and has taken a player to #1 and to grand slam victory.

I think its a great move but we shouldn't expect to see much of a difference at Roland Garros. But who knows, BG is great with the x's and o's.

To be honest, I think Brad Gilbert is really good at winning ugly. He tends to be able to accent a player's best weapons better than any other coach. Just look what happened to Roddick's serve and forehand after he fired Brad Gilbert, it has never been the same. True, I do agree for Roland Garros, Brad Gilbert is probably much better at preparing players for the other three slams historically

[ivan_the_terrible]

Originally Posted by batz

According to Neil Harman. I think this could be good for Milos.

You're just happy since Lendl coaches Andy - we all know the h2h between Ivan & Brad

[batz]

Originally Posted by ivan_the_terrible

You're just happy since Lendl coaches Andy - we all know the h2h between Ivan & Brad

You got me mate!

[gtshark1]

Is there a link to confirm the partnership between Gilbert and Milos? BG is usually pretty open about his activity on twitter but he has made no mention of this....

[thejackal]

wrote a piece about this for tennisconnected http://tennisconnected.com/home/2013...los-new-coach/

"Brad, Ivan or Someone Else – Who'll Be Milos' New Coach?

Since parting with long-time coach Galo Blanco earlier this month, Milos Raonic’s team seems to be actively looking for potential candidates to fill the coaching void. Former world #3 Ivan Ljubicic was seen in Raonic’s box in Rome, while Neil Harman of The Times has reported that Brad Gilbert is currently “helping out” the Canadian in his Roland Garros preparations.

Given Ljubicic’s career achievements and Brad Gilbert’s impressive coaching pedigree, we can safely assume that both men would be well qualified to give their inputs to Raonic. It’s hard to say who Milos will end up working with full-time, if it’s even either of those two, but let’s take a quick look at what each brings to the table:

TACTICAL

While Ljubicic’s coaching experience is very limited, his natural playing style does mesh very well with Raonic’s. The Croat’s serve has always been his strongest attribute, and he might be able to teach Raonic how to best take advantage of his reach and power while protecting his unspectacular movement, something Ivan has been able to do en route to a career-high #3 ranking, behind Federer and Nadal, in 2006.

Brad Gilbert is probably best known for transforming a young Andy Roddick from a promising talent into a world number 1 in 2003 by tapping into the American’s tremendous athletic talents. Since Raonic is as close as it gets to a 2013 equivalent of Roddick, the same approach might pay dividends with the Canadian. Keep in mind that it was Brad Gilbert who convinced a skeptical Andy Roddick that he, indeed, could succeed on grass, even though Andy struggled at Queen’s and Wimbledon early on in his career.

PSYCHOLOGICAL

A friend of mine who grew up playing junior tennis against Raonic in Canada once told me that Milos was a lot more emotional and demonstrative on-court back in the juniors than on the ATP tour. It seems that over the years, Milos has learned to play more within himself mentally, much like his idol Pete Sampras. There is no denying that being able to stay level-headed in clutch situations has helped him win more than his share of tiebreaks and deciding sets, but would showing more emotions allow him to intimidate his opponents and otherwise get into their heads?

On the one hand, staying with the same mental approach which brought him to the cusp of the top ten is a safe bet. On the other hand, perhaps a change on that front is just what Milos needs in order to make the breakthrough from "pretty good" to "Grand Slam contender." Considering that Ivan Ljubicic was also usually pretty quiet and even-keeled on the court, I’m not sure how much he’ll have to share with Milos on that front. Meanwhile, having coached fiery characters such as Agassi, Roddick and Murray, Brad Gilbert should be a lot better placed to advise the Canadian on the pros and cons of wearing your heart on your sleeve.

EMOTIONAL

Because of their shared ancestry (both Montenegro, the country of Raonic’s birth, and Croatia used to be a part of Yugoslavia) and low-key demeanors, Ivan and Milos should be able to find some common ground and shared understanding from a personal point of view.

Conversely, the famously talkative Gilbert might be a bit of a shock to the system for Milos. Milos doesn’t drink and doesn’t really have many interests beside tennis; Brad loves beer and is a man of the world, in his own way. Having interviewed Milos at Davis Cup and talked with Brad on a few occasions at Flushing Meadows, it seems that it would take a bit of work to make the partnership feasible long-term. The question is, would Brad be able to adjust his coaching style and find an optimal way to get through to Milos, or would Milos get tired of how much Brad talks (about tennis, other sports or life in general).

CONCLUSION

Historically, Brad’s done the best with Agassi and Roddick, two extroverted, fun-loving guys who, like him, didn’t mind hamming it up once in a while. His partnerships with Mary Pierce, Tatiana Golovin, Andy Murray, Sam Querrey and Kei Nishikori haven’t been as enduring perhaps because Brad works his magic the best when his charge also happened to be his best buddy. Meanwhile, Ivan seems to be a pretty good fit from a personal point of view, but does not have Gilbert's extensive coaching experience and tactic savvy from which to draw upon.

What’s actually going to happen with Milos’ coaching situation remains to be seen, but at least he seems to be starting his search in the right place.



Jack is a Montreal-based marketing professional and business lecturer. In addition to writing for Tennis Connected and traveling the world to cover the pro game, he also write about business for IndecentXposure.com. Check out his work for IX here.


Twitter: @KSplayersClub

Instagram: SoireeCulturelle"

[GRANITECHIEF]

Good stuff, except I was looking for your opinion on the best fit at the end.

[thejackal]

Originally Posted by GRANITECHIEF

Good stuff, except I was looking for your opinion on the best fit at the end.

I dont know ivan, so I cant really comment.

would actually think that raonic would hire neither full-time. if ivan was exactly what milos was looking for, then why call brad? also, I just think the personality difference between brad and milos would be too much to deal with. those guys don't have the same sense of humor. whenever milos tries to make a joke in the interview room, it usually ends up being fairly awkward.

example:

(right after he clinched the DC tie vs spain in february)

me: so what are you going to do to celebrate tonight (peliwo told me that milos doesn't drink, and it was the night of the superbowl, so I was kind of curious to hear what he'd say)
milos: got nothing planned. you want to go out tonight? propose something!


(that was what I actually looked like)