It was way back in 2005, while freelancing for the Barrie Examiner newspaper, when I first caught a glimpse of legendary Canadian tennis star Milos Raonic in action.
His play was impressive at the time, but no one knew then the great tennis heights Raonic would eventually reach.
I was assigned to cover a charity exhibition game that day, in support of the Seasons Centre for Grieving Children based in downtown Barrie, which would pit the Canadian junior champion at the time — 17-year-old Peter Polansky — against a seasoned pro tennis player, Guram Kostava, hailing from the eastern European country of Georgia.
It was held in one of those all-season indoor sports domes in town, as the event took place on Nov. 19, which was a chilly Saturday afternoon.
The junior champ was running late to the game, due to going long in a tournament he was playing at in Toronto.
It soon became clear he wasn’t going to make it in time.
So, instead of cancelling the match, organizers decided to toss one of the tennis-playing kids in attendance into the fire.
In walked the young Milos Raonic, a tall, gangly 14-year-old kid who lived in Thornhill, and was likely there playing in a tourney or just training.
He looked to be all arms and legs — a perfect physique for a tennis player, I suppose.
But this kid is going to get eaten alive, I thought to myself.
Boy, was I proven wrong.
Raonic, who was always known for his powerful serves throughout his professional career, had it in him even at this young age.
Kostava seemed surprised, as were most of us in attendance that day.
“Milos was very confident during the match,” Kostava told me in a conversation I had with him recently.
Kostava is now a tennis coach and lives in Toronto.
“He already had a great serve back then, (and a) fast game for his age,” he added.
It’s always difficult gauging how far a young player can go in the game of tennis, but there clearly was a sparkle of something there that day.
“I was impressed, for sure. He did have something extra,” said Kostava.
Raonic pushed the 30-year-old pro to the limit.
Kostava eventually won, but it was a close one, as he held off Raonic by a score of 6-4 and 7-6 in two sets.
Raonic had a massive reach and tons of speed, along with helpful bursts of youthful energy to keep him in the match.
It was a treat to witness.
I remember quite an ovation from the crowd after it ended.
Before the event began, he was just a kid just there watching a tennis match; after the game, he was shaking hands and signing autographs.
I’ve reached out to Raonic for comment on his memory of that day, but no luck, sadly.
Fast-forward just six short years later and Raonic was making headlines around the world for his stunning upsets at the Australian Open in 2011.
His first-round victory over Björn Phau marked his first win in a Grand Slam match. In the second round, he defeated the No. 22 seed, becoming the first Canadian man in 10 years to reach the third round of a Grand Slam singles tournament.
He capped that off with a triumph over a top-10 player Mikhail Youzhny in the third round, becoming the first qualifier to make the fourth round of a major event since Marcelo Filippini at the 1999 French Open.
Despite his loss in the fourth round to No. 7-seed David Ferrer, Raonic garnered rave reviews for his Australian Open performance.
With these monumental victories he became the highest-ranked Canadian male ever. And all at the age of 20.
After the event, Patrick McEnroe, a former player and broadcaster, as well as brother of the legendary John McEnroe, exclaimed that Raonic was "the real deal.”
BBC Sport described Raonic as part of "a new generation."
Women's tennis legend Martina Navratilova called Raonic "a new star" and that "the sky is the limit."
How right she was.
The Sydney Morning Herald referred to Raonic as a "future superstar."
The world suddenly woke up to a new tennis hope for Canada in Raonic.
Since 2011, after exploding onto the tennis scene, he has become arguably the greatest tennis player in our country’s history.
Raonic would eventually reach lofty heights as the world’s No. 3 seed behind only Andy Murray and Novak Djokovic in 2016.
He also played in a Wimbledon final that same year.
Now 33 years old and winding down his illustrious career, Raonic has raked in more than $20 million in prize money, placing him 28th on the all-time list.
That 2016 Australian Open was the big event which made him a household name in Canada, but to me, the wiry 14-year-old kid holding his own against an ATP pro in a tennis match right here in Barrie was the real moment he struck the match and lit his rocket to stardom.
To be there to capture it in photos has always been one of the highlights of my career.
Kevin Lamb is a reporter at BarrieToday.
