Raonic def. Fish « Milos Raonic

14Mar/11Off

Raonic def. Fish

It took just over two hours for Milos Raonic to defeat Mardy Fish in straight sets, 7-5, 6-4. The stats for Raonic's serve were not as great as we've been used to seeing lately, but they were good enough to get the job done. He seemed to come up with aces and forced errors on the return when he really needed them. The key statistic for the match, however, wasn't the first serve % or number of aces - it was the number of break points converted. Mardy Fish was unable to convert any of the 8 break points he earned on Raonic's serve. Milos, on the other hand, was a perfect 2/2 on break chances, which was all he needed to win the match. Here are the complete stats:

First Set

Raonic faced a tough service game at 1-2 in the first set which lasted over 12 minutes. With Fish about to serve at 4-4, Raonic called for the trainer. After a quick assessment, Milos took a medical timeout so the trainer could work on his abdomen and lower back. This was obviously a tense moment for fans of Milos, since it was impossible to know the extent of the injury and how it would affect his play following the treatment.

Immediately following the medical timeout, Raonic found himself down 0-30 on his serve and had to save a break point before holding to level the score at 5-5. In the next game, Fish missed two drop shot attempts in a row to give Raonic the first break of the match. Serving at 6-5, Raonic came up with some timely winners and big second serves to hold at love and take the first set.

Second Set

Fish managed to work his way into several of Raonic's service games early in the second set. When he failed to convert a break point at 2-3, Fish smashed his racquet in frustration. On the next point, Raonic was in obvious physical distress after hitting a passing shot down the line for a winner. It was clear that Milos needed the match to be over as soon as possible.

In the timely fashion that appears to be part of Milos' modus operandi, he broke Fish in the next game to take a 4-3 lead. It wasn't smooth sailing from here on out, though. Fish was still able to earn yet another break point against Raonic, which he failed to convert. While trying to serve out the match, Milos found himself down 15-40 in a hurry. Fish refused to go away. But Raonic elevated his game at just the right time to fight his way back to deuce. He did this by coming in behind some big first serves and forcing Fish to make difficult returns. The strategy worked.

Up Next

Raonic advances to the 3rd round to face Ryan Harrison. The young American is another player currently making a breakthrough of his own at Indian Wells. Their match will likely be on Tuesday, March 15.

-multi