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

Raonic loses to Benneteau in Paris

Julien Benneteau (FRA) defeated Milos Raonic (CAN) in an epic three set match at the BNP Paribas Masters today, 6(5)-7 7-6(5) 6-4.

Benneteau was having to play more points on his serve compared to Raonic, but he only faced one break point during the opening set. Raonic was having a much easier time on serve ultimately resulting in the set being decided by a tiebreak. With Benneteau serving at 4-5, he made a costly error to give Raonic the mini-break advantage. Milos didn't mess around and closed out the set on his first chance to serve for it. The Canadian was nearly perfect on his first serve points won during the set, but only hit half as many aces as his opponent.

Raonic started the second set with a blistering service game, doubling his ace count from three to six. In his next service game, Milos took the lead in the ace race after hitting two in a row to comfortably hold serve. Benneteau got to deuce on Raonic's third service game but wasn't able to earn a break chance. Milos returned the favour in the next game, but again the server held without having to face a break point. Serving to stay in the set, Raonic opened the game with two more aces bringing the total to 13 for the match. However, Benneteau was able to take advantage of some miscues from Milos to get to deuce. Raonic regained his concentration and quickly served his way out of trouble to force another tiebreak. This time it would be Benneteau who got the first mini-break courtesy of an error from Raonic. After giving up another error, Milos came up with a great return of serve to get a mini-break back. But Raonic was still trailing with Benneteau serving at 6-5 and he wasn't able to get back on even terms. The French fans let out a huge roar when Raonic put a ball into the net, thus giving the tiebreak to Benneteau. This one was going the distance and all of the momentum was with Benneteau.

It was clear from the start that Raonic wasn't letting up on his serve. He hit four aces and didn't lose a single point during his first two service games of the third set. Unfortunately his third service game was a different story. Benneteau quickly found himself with a 0-40 lead and his first break points of the match. Raonic saved the first two, only to send a forehand long and surrender the first break of serve of the contest. Benneteau consolidated the break to take a 4-2 lead. If the previous two hours of match play were any indication, we would expect both players to continue to hold serve until Raonic ran out of opportunities to break. That's exactly what happened as Benneteau was just too solid on his serve and didn't afford Raonic any chances to get back into the match.

Since coming back from the hip surgery, Milos had not lost to a player ranked lower than him until today. With the loss to Benneteau, Raonic's season has come to an end. The first round upset is a bit of a disappointment, but full credit goes to Benneteau for playing a terrific match coming back from a set down. This match turned on a few key points, and Julien was able to come out on top of them more often than Milos. Both players were remarkably consistent on serve, but Benneteau raised his game at just the right time to get the break in the third set. This was just after Raonic had gotten to deuce on Benneteau's previous service game. It was an incredibly tense match that lasted over two hours and 20 minutes. Benneteau was the better player today, but not by much.

Better luck next year, Milos. I can't wait for the 2012 season! Of course, there are still the tour finals in London and the Davis Cup final later this month but we've seen the last of Raonic on the ATP tour for the year. It certainly has been a great season stretching all the way back to the Round of 16 result at the Australian Open, and we look forward to following Milos in the new year.

Cheers!

-multi

Cilic knocks Raonic out of Valencia

Marin Cilic defeated Milos Raonic at the Valencia Open today in straight sets, 6-4 6-4.

One break of serve per set was all Cilic needed to pull off the win today. Cilic was in control for the majority of the match and was rarely challenged on his serve. Raonic was only able to earn a single break point in the first set, which he couldn't convert. Cilic would convert one his five chances early in the second to stay in the lead and deny Raonic any openings. Milos put up a fight with Cilic serving for the match, but he wasn't able to extend it.

Raonic had a difficult time working his way into the Cilic serve despite the Croat's low first serve percentage. Perhaps the most important stat of the match is the amount of second serve points Milos won, which was 38% for the match and a disappointingly low 18% for the second set. This indicates that Raonic couldn't get comfortable on his serve and had to focus most of his energy on keeping Cilic at bay. He was fighting a losing battle, but did well to keep the match as close as it was. Cilic was coming into the Valencia tournament riding a five match winning streak after the victory in St. Petersburg. That momentum was too much for Raonic to handle today.

Next up for Milos is the ATP Masters 1000 event in Paris which gets underway next week. All the top players will be there as it is the final ATP 1000 event of the year, and for most it'll be the last tournament of the season.

-multi