Pronouncing You Ready to Watch the U.S. Open

       Tennis is starting, and saying players' names becomes a challenge.

       Novak Djokovic is familiar, and we know that "c" is a [tsh] sound as in the word "itch."  So we can guess what to do with the "ic" in the last name of Milos Raonic.  But what about the "r-a-o-n"?  I want to say "rayon."  But no.  It's like "round" without the "d."

       The Croatian Marin Cilic is "serving doubles."  It's kind of like "itch" backwards, then forwards!
    
       I used [tsh] to show the pronunciation, but it's true.   Get the mouth ready to say the sound [t] (not the letter "t" but the sound [t] without the vowel sound "ee"after it).  Then make a half [t] and half [sh] ground together into the single sound [tsh].

       Now, you're ready for tennis!