Raonic Repeats as SAP Open Champion
Milos Raonic won the SAP Open championship today, defeating Denis Istomin in straight sets, 7-6(3) 6-2. He becomes the first male player to win two titles in 2012, and is the first to win the SAP Open in back to back years since Andy Murray in 2006-2007.
The match was almost a replay of yesterday's semi-final between Milos Raonic and Ryan Harrison. The first set was tight with no breaks of serve with Milos winning convincingly in a tiebreak. In the second, Raonic got the early break and eventually broke a again to put the match away. The script was almost exactly the same. The only thing that was different was the person across the net from Raonic.
Although there were no breaks of serve in the first set, Raonic was utterly dominant in the final. There didn't seem to be any way that Istomin was going to break Milos' serve. Not many players would have been able to do so today. It was just a matter of how long Istomin could hold on to his own serve and stay with Raonic. Just like Harrison the day before, he was only able to it for one set.
@milosraonic accepts his trophy after back-to-back @SAPOpen singles championships twitter.com/SAPOpenTennis/…
— 2012 SAP Open (@SAPOpenTennis) February 20, 2012
There are all sorts of ways to break down the match, but there is a crucial stat that I think tells the story: Raonic was 44/48 for total service points won. That's right, he lost just four points on his serve throughout the entire match. Take a minute to let that sink in. It boggles the mind. If Istomin was able to string those four points together in one service game, he might have had a chance.
Not only did Milos win his third ATP Tour title today, but he has also officially become a collector of fine maple syrups. Raonic checked the math and owning more than one bottle of maple syrup means that he has become a collector.
Team Raonic:
.@MilosRaonic poses with #TeamRaonic: His father, trainers & manager after winning the #SAPOpen twitter.com/SAPSponsors/st…
— SAP Sponsorships (@SAPSponsors) February 20, 2012
I hope he likes pancakes. Congrats, Milos!
-multi
... can't forget that maple syrup from "the Country of Canada"!!! (click thumb for bigger pic):
--wacb
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February 20th, 2012 - 22:14
Could someone help me out. Before Milos’s SAP win I thought he was 32 on the rankings list…my friend says he was at 31. Now I don’t know which one is the correct one. Then I look at the rankings today and find that he is ranked 35 and it shows a -3 drop. He just won and gained 250 points shouldn’t he be going the other way on the rankings? Thanks in advance.
February 20th, 2012 - 23:56
I believe the SAP Open was a week later this year, so he technically lost the points he won last year before he even had a chance to defend them. So I guess the same applies for the points he earned by reaching the finals in Memphis. His ranking should improve this week if makes a good run at the Regions Morgan Keegan Championships.
February 20th, 2012 - 21:42
On track for likely top-20 by end of 2012! Top-15 plausible, top-10 possible! Go Milos!
February 20th, 2012 - 10:35
Ok Gentleman, [Milos Raonic was] preparing to defend [his] crown, and gentleman, the only question is not will [he] repeat, but how many times?
(If you don’t get that joke – you need to pick up a copy of the “SNL – Best of Chris Farley” DVD. This is from the episode of Bill Swerski’s superfans, talking about the Chicago Bulls with Michael Jordan)
February 20th, 2012 - 12:19
“We’re talkin’ a minimum eight-peat.”
February 20th, 2012 - 01:10
#Raonic repeats as @SAPOpenTennis Champion! @SAPSponsors #TeamRaonic #AnotherGameForMilos http://t.co/Zp2PSAoR
February 19th, 2012 - 21:53
Amazing stuff today, Istomin not even getting a look at a break point… Let’s prepare for more titles… He’s already won two this year! How many others have done that in 2012 ?!?!
(Answer key: none)