It's a good week for men's tennis as two of its big names are making their comeback on the professional tour. Juan Martin del Potro and Milos Raonic are competing on the red clay securing Europe's edges. The Argentine is holding the headlines in Estoril, Portugal while the Canadian is the top seed in Istanbul, Turkey. As the main star of the ATP 250 event from Turkey, Milos Raonic would want to mark his comeback with a compelling result.
As in the previous seasons, his schedule for 2017 was nowhere to perfection as he was subject to unexpected injury followed by poor results.
His last appearance on the ATP Tour was in Miami where he was forced to withdrew before his third round encounter. Ranked 6th in the world, he is yet to make an impact in 2017.
Milos Raonic leads the upper half of the draw in Istanbul and will face Aljaz Bedene in the second round
The ATP 250 event in Istanbul is one of the newest of its kind, this year being his 3rd anniversary on the grand stage. Having Roger Federer as the winner of its inaugural edition back in 2015, he is getting more attention. This edition features some great players including two top 10 players. There is Raonic in the first half of the draw and Marin Cilic at the bottom. The no. 1 Canadian will take on Aljaz Bedene (58 ATP).
The 27-year-old player from the United Kingdom is having a great time during this Clay Court swing being a runner-up of last week's ATP 250 event in Budapest, Hungary. On the other side, Raonic will have his first contact with the red clay this season so despite the ranking difference there could be not many gaps between them.
There is nothing to talk about in their head to head stats as it'll be their first meeting on the ATP Tour.
Judging his style, the clay court isn't Raonic's first choice
It's well known that clay is not what a big server like Raonic would want. But his comeback from injury corresponds with the European clay court swing. With already four months of the season done and dusted, Raonic has 13 matches under his belt.
It's a little bit short, and the clay court might be the right place for a full training before shifting to faster surfaces.
Back in 2016, he had no big success on clay, but once the action went to the grass court, he started producing severe damages including a brilliant performance against Federer in Wimbledon semis. The Canadian is a big guy possessing a merciless serve and a various selection of baseline strokes. On clay, these particular skills tend to be neutralized.
