Victor Estrella Burgos' run at the U.S. Open came to an end last week, losing to tournament fifth-seed Milos Raonic in straight sets 7-6 (5), 7-6 (5), 7-6 (3) but not before making his mark on New York City and Dominican tennis.

Raonic, ranked sixth in the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP), proved to be too much for Estrella Burgos -- the first Dominican to participate in the tournament, as well as the oldest player to make his debut at the U.S. Open at the age of 34 years old -- with the Canadian Raonic slamming 22 aces past Estrella Burgos along with 52 winners, breaking on three of 11 chances.

"It's great to see at 34 years old, I believe, he's playing his best tennis," said Raonic in the presser after the victory about his scrappy opponent. "He's figuring a lot of it out. He's giving himself sort of a new life about his tennis."

Estrella Burgos' path to the U.S. Open was quite different from most professional tennis players, turning pro in 2002 at the age of 22 and competing mostly in local tournaments, including playing for the Dominican Republic's Davis Cup team. Estrella Burgos eventually stepped up his level of competition, participating in the International Tennis Federation (ITF) Futures and ATP Challenger events, mixing up his schedule playing in both the top-tier ATP tours and ATP Challenger tours.

Estrellas Burgos' electrifying run in the U.S. Open, which included defeating the Netherlands' Igor Sijsling and 17-year-old 2013 U.S. Open junior champion Borna Coric of Croatia, won over the New York City crowd, especially Hispanic tennis fans who were extremely vocal throughout the tournament, energizing Estrella Burgos in previous rounds.

"Every time I got a good point, people would cheer my name and that gave me energy. The truth is it felt incredible, being here in New York City and people supporting," said Estrella Burgos in the presser after his loss to Raonic. "Honestly, it felt like a Davis Cup match, people yelling 'Victor, Victor' and I was like, 'This can't be happening in New York.' Truth is, it made me feel very good."

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But Raonic managed to not only block out his opponent's supporters, but kept them out of the match for the most part, putting constant pressure on Estrella Burgos.

With New York City now in his rear-view mirror, Estrella Burgos is looking forward to taking a very short break before heading to the ATP Indoor European tour and preparing to make his debut in another Grand Slam, the Australian Open, coming up early next year.

"I'm going to keep training, take a week off, no competitions, play a few Challenger events in Ecuador and Colombia and then get ready for the ATP tour in Europe, which will be at the start of October," said Estrella Burgos. "I'm more than ready, but I told myself want to play in Australia. That was a goal I had at the beginning of the year and that was something we've been planning. That was a goal we had, as well as staying in the Top 100 in the coming year. Thank God I've been able to stay the course, stay positive. I hope to go [to the Australian Open]. I've never been there, but from what I can see Australia has a climate similar to the Dominican Republic, which for me is great."

Estrella Burgos' new-found success has not just resonated with fans at the U.S. Open, but also with younger Hispanic players who have been inspired "Viti's"--as he known to his friends and family--successful run in the tournament as well as his poise both on and off the court.

"It's great to have more Latino representation, especially from Central America and the Caribbean. I hope this gives other people from that region the motivation to believe that yes it can be done," said 17-year-old ITF tour player Julian Saborio of Costa Rica to Latin Post, who was watching in the stands supporting Estrella Burgos. "This is great motivation for us trying to get to the top, for the younger players that are working hard representing their countries and seeing what Victor has done."

Estrella Burgos hopes his success in Grand Slam tournaments spurs interest in the sport of tennis in the Dominican Republic, an island that exalts baseball and has produced Major League Baseball (MLB) All-Stars like Pedro Martinez, "Big Papi" David Ortiz and Albert Pujols. Estrella Burgos believes accessibility is key to continue building interest in the sport on the Caribbean island.

While Estrella Burgos wants to start a foundation in the Dominican Republic that would focus on building public courts and provide equipment for those interested in tennis, he believes more has to be done as far as investing in the sport within the island nation.

"I hope that the Powers That Be in sports put more focus and more interest in tennis and construct public tennis courts, because there are not any available," said Estrella Burgos. "It's all I really ask the Powers That Be, that in every town there be free courts. For example, in my home town of Santiago, there were nine public tennis courts and that no longer exists. I hope they get it in gear and start opening up free tennis courts because [of the] talent we have. We don't have talent just for baseball. We produce baseball players because there are more academies, more training. It's easy to train for baseball. You need a glove and ball and you can start training. With tennis, it's totally different."

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