By Chris Oddo

(August 2, 2012) -- In a lot of ways, 2012 has been like tennis purgatory for Milos Raonic. Think of the top ten as heaven, and poor Milos in a state of purification -- temporary punishment if you will -- as he waits to be admitted through the pearly gates to the kingdom where players who possess his kind of natural gifts belong.

It isn’t quite hell, but it isn’t quite heaven either.

On Monday, when Raonic finally bowed out to Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in yet another heartbreaking loss, there was the feeling that maybe Raonic has learned all he can learn from losing.

Still, ever philosophical, and eager to embrace every step of his development, Raonic didn’t really seem too bothered by the loss, or the cumulative effect of many losses that have left him without a Masters or Grand Slam quarterfinal in his career.

“I feel like with the last few matches maybe I had with Roger [Federer]and now against him [Tsonga], up against a few different players on pretty big stages, either Masters Series and whatnot, I've been sort of knocking on the door,” said Raonic on Monday, with the bitter taste of defeat still fresh on his tongue. “Hopefully next time around I can sort of kick it down and make the most of it, really try and sort of find my way through this. I think if I can get through one of these, I think it just opens up a lot more doors.”

It sure feels like Raonic is close. He’s taken Roger Federer to three sets three times this season, and a victory in any one of those matches might have served as the impetus for a Raonic rally the likes of which Canadian tennis fans have been dreaming about ever since the tall, soft-spoken youngster burst onto the scene at the 2011 Australian Open.

It was then in Melbourne that Raonic introduced his lethal serve to the world—and the world groaned, and ran for cover. Months later, Raonic had his first ATP title and he became the highest-ranked Canadian to ever play the game.

Expectations grew to enormous size. No. 1 talk was about as common as the booming aces that regularly flew off Raonic’s racquet.

But the results have yet to come. More disconcerting than the losses to Federer (it happens to the best of ‘em) is the fact that Raonic has lost close early-round matches in his last three Grand Slam appearances, two of which came against lower-ranked players (Querrey at Wimbledon, Hewitt in Australia).

It begs the question: Is Raonic ever going to win the big one? Well, let’s forget about the big one for now. Is Raonic ever going to win A BIG ONE?

Hence the purgatory reference. Milos is stuck in tennis quicksand and he can’t get out. It’s groundhog day and the scoreboard doesn’t lie.

But I’m taking the dim view. Luckily, Raonic, who is only 21 and blessed with extraordinary talents -- have you seen this guy serve or seen anybody try to return his serve? -- prefers to take the long one. “I think going into it next time I'll be better equipped,” said Raonic. “The question is how much. Will it be next time that it really changes for me or will it be the time after that? I don't know. It's sport. A lot of things can happen.”

Raonic is right. He will be better equipped next time. We are living through an era where experience has become more valuable than ever before, and with each challenge Raonic faces, he’ll become more battle-tested, more ready to assert himself on the rest of the field.

And perhaps the fact that he’s going through this prolonged period of not quite getting over the hump will only make him work harder, and therefore he’ll be even better when his fortune starts to change.

It’s a scary thought, because, as he proved on Monday, when he almost took out one of the best grass-court players in the world in an epic battle of wills, he’s pretty damn good already.

With absolutely zero points to defend through the US Open, August and September ought to be a good time to jump in the rankings for Raonic. Maybe as he does that, he’ll get that big win that he so badly needs for his confidence.

For now, he’ll just keep doing what he’s been doing. Working and working and working. Waiting and waiting and waiting.

“There's a lot of variables,” he says. “I just try to focus on the things I can control, which is myself.”

(Photo Credit: Jamie Squire/ Getty)