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

Milos Raonic runner up again in Memphis – loses to Jurgen Melzer – Memphis Final 2012

Milos Raonic lost to Jurgen Melzer today in the finals of the Regions Morgan Keegan Championship.  As Reggie Barnes, Managing Director of Morgan Keegan and Company, put it when he handed Milos the runner-up trophy, "You can't win every week, Milos!"...

Here is the recap of the match, written as it progressed this afternoon.

First Set

Jurgen Melzer elected to receive upon winning the toss.  Milos had a little bit of trouble putting that first game away, and at 40-30, a correct challenge from Melzer forced a second serve which Milos doubled faulted into the net to make it deuce.  He followed with an ace and a forehand winner coming into the net to put away the game.  Milos made 3 of 8 first serves in the game - an unusual lapse in the first game of the match.  Melzer had a fairly easy service game to even it up.  So far so good...

Milos stepped it up in his next service game and quickly held at love.  Melzer had a pretty good service game himself to follow, though he did make a couple of errors to balance out the great serve and volleys.  In the end, we're on serve at 2-2.  It's apparent that Melzer's strategy of putting the first serve out wide and following up with the backhand volley across the court is a good one.  Unfortunately for Melzer though, as Milos put away the 5th game he reminded us why he hasn't lost a point yet in the match where he's gotten his first serve in.

The next game was a fairly routine hold for Melzer, and Milos answered with the same, getting up to 7 aces so far and making it 4-3 in his favour.  Still on serve...

Melzer continued to play the way he's been playing, going up 40-15 in the 8th game.  Even on second serve he's able to put it wide enough to hit a winner on Raonic's return of serve.  He wrapped up the game with an ace to make it 4-4 at match time 0:25.

Raonic continued to vary the serve, pretty much taking Melzer out of the match during the game.  He held at love with 3 aces during that game, amazing.  5-4 for Raonic with Melzer to serve to stay in the set coming up at match time 0:27.

Raonic played some great defence to start, but he put a ball long before Melzer failed to make a quick drop shot, and then failed to dig one up at his feet after he came into the net.  Raonic played some more great defence, obviously doing what he could to put away the set, but Melzer came out with some power to make it 30-30 and then some more great playing from Melzer to get a game point despite Milos' best defensive efforts.  Both players playing their best tennis of the match here in the 10th game.

Milos made it to deuce against Melzer by hitting some power shots side to side before going down the line to beat Melzer.  He had to dig a low ball in the next point though and wasn't able to get it over the net.  He got beaten again by Melzer on the next point.

Raonic came into the next game after winning 18 points on serve in a row, but Melzer tried mixing it up again, aa he's tried a few times already, to throw Milos off.  Milos hit his 11th ace to even it up at 15-15.  Melzer is standing waaay back on the court, almost to the wall, and it seems to be having an effect as he won the next point.  He guessed the wrong way on the next point after trying to mess with Milos serve by moving and bouncing.  Another error by Milos into the net gave Melzer his first break pointand he was able to convert on an error by Milos into the net.  Milos has been broken for the first time in the tournament - and has lost his first point on a first serve in the match.  6-5 Melzer, up a break and ready to try and serve out the set.

Melzer continued to try and get into Milos' head, which is a hard task given Milos' mental composure and discipline.  Milos even tried to hush someone with his finger at his lips after losing the game... trying to keep himself from getting shaky.  Melzer played some more great tennis to earn double set point, putting the first one into the net.  He aced Milos out wide from the Ad court, his favourite lefty serve during the match that's working well for him, to take the set 7-5 at 0:41.

Milos Raonic tells his box to keep quiet in order to keep his mental composure after being broken in the first set against Jurgen Melzer in the Memphis 2012 final. (screenshot from http://www.tennistv.com)

Second Set

Melzer kept taking the ball early, trying to take Milos off guard, but they split the first two points of the opening game of the 2nd set.  Milos hit another error past the baseline to go down 15-30 on the serve, but on his next chance he made it count, with Melzer failing to return it by putting it into the net.  30-30.  Another 2nd serve by Raonic, but his ground-stroke winner attempt was precise this time, hitting the line to get a game point.  After hitting a let he put away an ace to take the first game of the set.

Melzer started out of the gates fast on his first service game of the set... still very comfortable on serve.  1-1 in the second set.

Melzer, still somehow figuring out how to make those quick returns with seemingly little back-swing and warning, continued to make things a little difficult for Milos.  Milos hit one just wide to make it 30-30, still having only lost one point on first serve, the point that cost him the only break of the match.  His next serve was high and wide to beat Melzer, but on a 2nd serve Melzer hit the ball from his spot way behind the baseline to take the next point and make it deuce.  Melzer hit a potential winner just wide on the next point though, but made up for it with a backhand into the corner to being it back to deuce.  Raonic's served saved him again though, as he hit 2 aces to get to Ad and another hold to make it 2-1, still on serve.

Melzer made a couple of errors in the next game, getting a little bit of a look at 15-30.  But Melzer made Milos run to dig and put it away before Milos put away an amazing return of serve to earn a break point.  He did beat Milos at the net to bring it to deuce though, erasing that scare before experiencing it again on a forehand error into the net.  Milos has a second chance to break.  He hit a forehand long though, bringing it back to deuce.  Melzer's next serve went wide though, as Milos confirmed with a challenge,then he got a 3rd break opportunity on a forehand that did paint the line in the back of Melzer's court.  It went back to deuce again though, with Melzer still hitting some great shots.  We got another error from Melzer though, and Milos put a passing shot by him down the line to get the break!  3-1 Raonic, 2nd set.

Milos seemed to get a bit of confidence from this...  he seemed to be trying to put those extra mph on the serve and hit a great drop shot while running in and in a little bit of a hop to beat Melzer.  A couple of errors brought it back to 30-30 though.  Milos hit an ace though, and then hit an unreturnable serve to consolidate his break at 4-1.

Melzer held pretty quickly in the next game.  Milos then hit some massive forehands to beat the ball past Melzer, but then hit a double fault and an ace.. just mixing it up a bit...  Melzer hit another quick return on the next point, catching Milos flat-footed again to take the point and make it 30-30.  Milos had to hit a second serve again and Melzer stood about 40 feet behind the baseline and successfully created an error by Milos.  Milos saved it though with a bullet serve but then hit a double fault...  Again, looks like Melzer's breaking down the mental barrier.  Milos shook his head a couple of times toward his box, and then eventually gave the break back to Melzer with another seemingly simple forehand error.  Back on serve in the 2nd set at 4-3 for Raonic.  I don't like that head-shake...

Melzer took the next hold at love.  Showing amazing confidence compared to the shrugging shoulders of Raonic.  4-4.

Melzer's quick hands let him down in the next game to start, hitting 2 errors.  Some tense net play created another error though, and Milos then put away the game.  5-4 for Milos on serve, let's hope this set ends a little differently.

Milos went up 0-30 in the next game, before hitting a return into the net.  Melzer seemed to be a little phased this time.  He took his time to challenge an overrule by the chair umpire (when Milos had already signalled the same).  He did well on the next point though.  30-30, then a double fault - giving Milos set point.  His first serve was way off, but Milos hit a pretty standard backhand into the net to go to deuce.  Both players are obviously tense, with shots going all over the place.  Milos hit another 2 errors to lose the game and make it 5-5.  The commentator then reminded us it was the 11th game in the first set where Milos lapsed to be broken.  Thanks...

Milos hit his 20th ace during the game to hold at love and put that 11th game away.  6-5 Milos on serve.  Let's hope that mental hardness stays now for Milos...

So Melzer steps up to serve to stay in the match, starting with an ace out wide.  He missed his next serve attempt down the line though, but Milos missed the second serve, as the ball dropped before the net.  Milos missed the next return as well, hitting a backhand wide.  He seemed to have that shrugged shoulder look again as he hesitated to come in on a dropshot to send the set to a tiebreak decider.

Some mini-holds for the first 4 points of the match, then Milos hit a let followed by a bullet that Melzer couldn't hit back.  3-2 for Milos, on serve in the tiebreak.

Melzer held his next 2 points as well, and continued to move back and forth, bouncing up and down, to get into Milos' head and force a second serve followed by another forehand error into the net.  Milos punished the next forehand though, but he's still down a mini-break.

Milos hit a forehand wide down the line to give Melzer two match points, before hitting another forehand into the net - giving Melzer the match and the Regions Morgan Keegan Championship.

So instead of Milos winning his fourth title, it's Melzer getting his fourth.  It was not a great game for Milos as far as his standards go so far this year, and Melzer stepped it up just enough to capitalize on that and win 7-5, 7-6(4).

--wacb