Milos Raonic – Canada Fan Blog an (unofficial) blog about tennis and Canadian player Milos Raonic

Raonic through to quarters in Stockholm

Milos Raonic advances to the quarter-finals at the If Stockholm Open with a comfortable win over Philipp Petzschner (GER) in straight sets, 6-3 6-3.

Unlike yesterday's match with Baghdatis, Raonic was able to take the lead early in the first set. Petzschner never really challenged Milos on his serve and wasn't able to find a single break point. Looking at the stats, it's easy to see why. Despite the ace count being relatively low in the first set by Raonic's standards, Milos was nearly perfect winning points off his second serve. The chances just weren't there for the German.

The first half of the second set was a bit of a stalemate. The server was holding without much difficulty, until Raonic opened up the first break points of the set with Petzschner serving at 3-3. Milos converted on his second chance took the lead once again. From there it was business as usual, relying on the first serve to keep Petzschner out of the rallies. The backhand for Raonic wasn't very consistent during the match, but he still came up with a tricky passing shot as the German was serving to stay in the match. If you were watching, you know the point I'm referring to. That shot was enough to keep Milos in the service game, which ultimately lead to him getting the second service break to win the match on a high note without having to serve it out.

This match didn't have the same tension as the previous one, as Petzschner couldn't defend against Raonic's booming serve and forehand. The German literally didn't stand a chance: he wasn't able to earn a break point at any point during the match. Milos didn't make any mistakes on his first serve in the second set, winning 100% of those points. It's a little surprising that he "only" hit 7 aces, but he was so good when landing his first serve in that it didn't really matter. This was really good stuff from Raonic, who gave a dominating performance in front of his father as he watched from the stands with Coach Blanco.

Raonic's opponent in the quarter-finals will either be Juan Ignacio Chela (ARG) or Grigor Dimitrov (BUL). Their second round match will be decided tomorrow, so it appears that Milos will have a day off before he has to play again.

It certainly looks like the headband is working for Milos. That, and the consistent indoor conditions seem to suit the Canadian perfectly. It's truly exciting to see Raonic back on form and getting the wins.

UPDATE: Milos Raonic will face Grigor Dimitrov in the quarterfinals in Stockholm tomorrow.

-multi