Milos Raonic says his stunning accomplishments on the tennis court in the last two months have yet to sink in.
Following last month's surprising fourth-round showing at the Australian Open, the 20-year-old Raonic upset ninth-ranked Fernando Verdasco in Sunday's final at the SAP Open to become the first Canadian since Greg Rudsedski in 1995 to win an ATP Tour tournament.
That victory in San Jose, Calif., made him the youngest ATP winner since Marin Cilic took New Haven in 2008 as a 19-year-old.
It also saw Raonic, who grew up in Thornhill, Ont., jump 25 places to No. 59 in Monday's ATP Tour rankings after starting the year at 156th.
"I haven't grasped what happened and how it changed everything," Raonic said on a conference call from Memphis, Tenn. "Right now is not the time to think about that.
"I have another match coming."
By the luck of the draw, his next match will be Wednesday night against Verdasco, who is the second seed at this week's indoor, hardcourt tournament in Memphis.
"I feel I'm ready for it," said Raonic, who spent the day resting and adjusting to the time change after an overnight flight. "I feel I'm playing at a good level and I don't think that's something you lose the next day, it's something you keep
"I know more about my opponent. I'll know what I want to do better in the next match, so I'm looking forward to it."
It's been a wild year for the six-foot-five righthander with the thundering serve who several experts feel will almost certainly be a top-10 player one day.
At the Australian Open, he downed 10th seeded Mikhail Youzhny and No. 22 Michael Llodra to reach the round of 16, where he fell to Spaniard David Ferrer.
The strong play carried into San Jose, where he downed Verdasco 7-6 (6), 7-6 (5) in a match in which there were not only any service breaks, but only one break point.
Raonic trailed 6-2 in the first-set tiebreaker, then reeled off six straight points.
His serves have been clocked at 240 kilometres per hour, but he hopes to evolve into a more complete player. In November, he began an intensive six weeks of work with new coach Galo Blanco and a new fitness trainer.
"It's showing through results and accomplishments so far," he said. "There's always something to work on.
"People say I serve good, but I can get better at other things, like the return game, movement, going to the net more and finishing points there, and the transition from defence to offence. The positive thing is there's a lot to work on, so there's space for improvement. I don't mind putting in the work."
Raonic is 8-2 in ATP matches this year and ranks among the top in first serve points and service games won.
Unlike Rusedski, who bolted Canada to play for Britain, Raonic is committed to Canada and wearing the maple leaf at the Davis Cup.
He was born in Montenegro, but moved to Canada with his family in 1994 when he was three. His tennis was honed in Thornhill and later at the national tennis centre in Montreal, but he is sometimes mistakenly lumped in with the large group of strong players on tour from the former Yugoslavia.
"It's clear what my allegiance is and what nationality is beside my name when I play tournaments," he said. "I don't think about it. My decision is made."
He also proved to be a good sport in San Jose.
Raonic got to the final on a walkover when Gael Monfils pulled out, but instead of relaxing, agreed to play an exhibition match against one of the other hard servers on tour -- six-foot-10 Ivo Karlovic.
He said the challenge now is to maintain his level of play and to win on all types of surface, including clay, a slow surface that tends to punish the big hitters.
