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

Raonic loses to Monfils in Stockholm

Gael Monfils (FRA) came back from a set down to defeat Milos Raonic in the semi-finals at the If Stockholm Open, 6(6)-7 6-4 6-3.

Monfils was a little inconsistent in his second service game, which allowed Raonic to earn a couple of break points. But Monfils came up with some clutch serves to hold on and keep from falling behind early. The backhand from Raonic was looking good to start the match, both from the baseline and at the net. After double faulting and making a few loose errors, Raonic found himself down 14-40 to Monfils at 3-3. As we so often see, Milos relied on a few big serves and forehands to get to deuce. He would have to save another break point before getting out of that tough service game. In his usual style, Monfils was covering the court with reckless abandon and went to the ground on two occasions. This match was certainly living up to the expectations. At five games all, Monfils would open up a 0-30 lead on Raonic's serve, but Milos kept his cool and ran off four straight points to put the pressure back on his opponent. On set point in the tiebreak, Milos let a shot go that he could easily have put away. Instead, the ball landed on the baseline and gave a mini-break back to Monfils. But all was not lost as Raonic soon got the error from Monfils to win the tiebreak 8-6.

Monfils was clearly a little rattled after losing the tiebreak, and ended up dropping serve for the first time in the match early in the second. He would have  a chance to break back in the next game, but Raonic produced a timely serve and volley play to save break point. Despite his frustrations, Monfils wasn't going away. Raonic couldn't capitalize on the opportunity to go up a double break, and soon got broken himself after missing an easy one down the line. Monfils was fired up when he won his fourth game in a row, breaking Raonic again to take the second set. The free points on serve just weren't there for Raonic, so he wasn't able to be as dominant as he had been in previous matches. The aces were rare and the first serve percentage was barely above 50 for the second set. Throw in a few errors and you can't expect to hold serve against a Top 10 player like Monfils.

Raonic seemed to settle down at the beginning of the third set. His serve was looking steadier and he wasn't overhitting his shots as much (which is what I think got him into trouble midway through the second set). Monfils was solid as well, looking more confident as the final set progressed. Milos would have another less than stellar service game and was broken when he didn't put some points away when he had the chance. Monfils backed up the break with a hold at love, and everything seemed to be going his way since the latter stages of the second set. Raonic would at least make Monfils serve it out, which he did without too much trouble.

This match was very winnable from Raonic's standpoint. For a three set match, 9 aces for Milos is a little lower than we might have expected (and hoped for). More free points off the serve certainly would have made things easier for Raonic, especially in the second set. But Monfils is not the kind of player to give up those points without a fight. Raonic was certainly able to stay in front of Monfils without running up the ace count during the first half of the match, but Gael's athleticism and overall experience would eventually turn the tide in his favour. I can't help but think of the missed opportunity with Monfils serving at 2-4. Raonic opened up the 15-30 lead and had Monfils on the ropes at the net. But when it looked like Milos had a relatively easy shot to get two break points, he completely overhit a forehand and sent it well wide. That's when Monfils won four straight games to force a third set. From there, it was hard not to like Gael's chances in the deciding set.

It was an impressive comeback by Monfils, to be sure. It's just a bit of a disappointment for us fans because it looked like Raonic had things all wrapped up before paying the price for letting Monfils back in the match late in the second set. It was a great run to the semis for Milos though, which more than makes up for the early exits we saw in the last couple of tournaments.

-multi