Ferrer Ends Raonic’s Barcelona Run « Milos Raonic

28Apr/12Off

Ferrer Ends Raonic’s Barcelona Run

David Ferrer defeated Milos Raonic in two incredibly close sets at the Barcelona Open, 7-6(2) 7-6(5).

Could a match be any closer? Perhaps if it had gone to a tiebreak in the third set. Perhaps. No break points were converted during the match and both sets had to be decided in a tiebreak. Ferrer was the epitome of consistency on his serve. Raonic wasn't bad, Ferrer was just better.

"I felt I had opportunities, especially in the first set. I had no chances in the second set," assessed Raonic. "I was defending a lot of break points. I felt I did well on his serve too. In general, it's getting better day by day. It's a little bit unfortunate I had those chances, but I also created my opportunities." (Source: ATP)

Better indeed. This was an amazing run to the semis for Milos. After that disappointing loss in Monte Carlo where he looked out of sorts and frustrated, Raonic refocused and recovered from the loss in the best way possible: winning matches and scoring a huge win over the No.4 player in the world. He was almost able to pull off another major upset against Ferrer, but fell short of breaking through the Spaniard's renowned defenses.

This match will be replayed on Sportsnet ONE at 2 PM EST today.

By making the semis in Barcelona, Raonic will move into a career high ranking next week at around No. 22. The next tournament for Milos is the Mutua Madrid Open, which begins May 6. Let's keep this claymentum going!

-multi

Posted by multiformous

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Robert
May 4th, 2012 - 16:19

Very tough draw for Milos in Madrid : first round against Nalbandian, if he wins secound round against Federer ! Now, I think he can win against Nalbandian. It would be a great victory for Milos : Nalbandian is a very good clay player. Then we would have once more Milos vs Federer, but on clay(very special clay). Interesting to compare with Indian Wells. Fortunately, whatever the result, he won’t lose points. As usual, GO MILOS !!!!!
Tomaso
May 3rd, 2012 - 21:35

Smurf Clay! Love it, Milos!
- Robert
  May 4th, 2012 - 16:22
  
  So do I, Milos wit, not blue clay, I’m afraid. Now smurfs are schtroumpfs in French and were invented in Belgium. I didn’t know they were popular in Canada. In French, I would say : vas-y, Milos, schtroumpf les tous !
Robert
May 2nd, 2012 - 05:07

This blog is getting very lively ! A sign Milos is having more and more fans behind him ! I sometimes go on Globe and Mail tennis net article and notice there are many comments when Milos is playing, not a single one on Barcelona final per se. It shows an increasing interest for Milos in your country. In my own country (France), he is starting to be known and at Monte Carlo, a friend told me more than half of the audience was supporting him.
I find his play is improving really fast and I love his cool way of winning. No fuss of any kind ! That is great ! And always a smile when he shakes hands with his opponent.
A tournament, I think he really could win is Newport, on grass, in the US. Wimbledon will come, but give him time ! As for Madrid, blue clay Madrid, he can only win points ! Go Milos !
- multiformous
  May 2nd, 2012 - 12:41
  
  Win or lose, Milos is ice cold on the court. It certainly seems to be working for him. I like his focused demeanor, it’s very professional. No excessive celebration when he wins, that’s for sure.
  
  The sports news networks in Canada have been showing more and more highlights from his matches as of late. And whenever his matches are on TV we get to see plenty of tennis commercials that feature Milos, like this gem:
Tomaso
May 1st, 2012 - 00:51

How Now, Brown Cow! Where they find these tennis commentators, it’s beyond me! Since they still oft-times find a way to mis-pronounce Rafael Nadal, we should not be surprised that it will be up to us, the Raonic fans, to educate them as to the correct pronunciation of Milos’ name. During the Ferrer/Raonic match, it was the Brit Jason Goodall — did HE ever make it to ATP#23?? — who persisted in mangling the name — “RAY-oh-nitch” — while everyone else: his co-commentator, the umpire, even the BALL-KIDS, I’m sure, pronounced it correctly.
…..So get ready to get to work, folks. Start with your friends who are just becoming aware of how well Milos is doing. Easy way is: “How Now Brown Cow…” ROW-nitch. A bit better might be RAh-oh-nitch: the first vowel a two-part dipthong. Want to really impress? Tongue-roll that first R! But don’t take my word for it; here’s Milos himself>> http://blogs.montrealgazette.com/2011/02/11/how-do-you-pronounce-raonic/ <> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wUaMzsNKR7Q <<
…If you twitter, or facebook, and you can get through to Jason Goodall or anyone else disrespecting Milos by mispronouncing his name, please do your due diligence: keep twittering or facebooking till they all get it right!
- multiformous
  May 1st, 2012 - 21:41
  
  I watched a match once where the commentator must have pronounced his name about a dozen different ways. He must have given up at one point because I thought I heard him say “Rakovic” during a particularly exciting point.
  
  That Seinfeld clip is classic, by the way.
GG
May 1st, 2012 - 00:38

Some good press on Raonic from this week:

http://blogs.tennis.com/tennisworld/2012/04/around-the-world-april-30.html

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1161427-milos-raonic-has-he-evolved-into-a-threat-on-the-clay-courts

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1164388-milos-raonic-how-long-until-we-can-call-him-a-slam-contender?search_query=raonic
- multiformous
  May 1st, 2012 - 14:15
  
  Thanks for posting these! Here’s a little quote from the last link: “At this point, Milos Raonic’s fate as a future Slam champion is practically inevitable.”
  
  That’s quite an endorsement!
- Tomaso
  May 1st, 2012 - 22:01
  
  Thanks GG. Another good article in the National Post today, by Stephanie Myles:
  
  > http://sports.nationalpost.com/2012/05/01/milos-raonic-only-getting-better-from-clay-court-experiences/ < [See also links there to good older articles.]
  
  And remember not to panic when Milos (likely) drops from 23 to 24 in the ATP rankings next Monday. As we know Milos is not playing this week: a good, strategic decision. But three other players plus/minus five of Milos (i.e. from 18 to 29) ARE playing this week, including Cilic (at Munich) who is only 25 points behind Milos, and unless he's upset will gain at least 45 points — quite possibly more, as he's seeded 3rd. Wawrinka, currently tied with Milos in points, but ranked 22, is seeded 3rd at Estoril this week; so he'll move up next Monday. Gasquet, currently #18 is seeded 2nd at Estoril, and will pick up points and maybe a ranking or two.
  
  But not to worry! It will all be temporary! Of the five guys right above Milos, all but one (Verdasco) have 200+ points to defend in May and June — Gasquet has 550! While Milos has a puny 30 points to defend over the next eight weeks, and many points to win! I'm still calling for Milos to be top-20 by end of June.
  - Tomaso
    May 1st, 2012 - 22:18
    
    Correction: Milos has only 20 points to defend in May, but has 55 points to defend in June. But that’s still significantly less than ALL of the other players within five of Milos in current ranking.
    - multiformous
      May 2nd, 2012 - 12:37
      
      Right, it’s just a shame he’s not defending his points in Estoril. But I guess he’s got bigger fish to fry this season! It’s probably a good choice to focus on the two upcoming Masters events and be in the best shape possible for the French Open.
Robert
April 29th, 2012 - 18:29

Very close indeed, as Tomaso pinpoints, and for the first time against Ferrer who usually beats Raonic much easier. What a week for Milos ! Good he has some rest now with his family in his birth country of Montenegro, with his family !
From what, I saw I find Milos play as changed somewhat for the better (the sign of it is a small grunt that just show his effort in playing now and commitment). He attacks much more, but keep calm in between exchanges in a typical Milos’way. He also rush much more to the net and sometimes it is almost serve and volley. His overhead smashes are usually impressive. The game at the net has yet to get improved, but is going to be very efficient, I think. That’s the way he will beat Ferrer, especially on hard court, but not only.
It is really nice to be able to watch his matches against Murray and against Ferrer on YT. His progress is even more self-evident against Ferrer because of the challenge and the speed Ferrer gives to the match. I think Raonic is really the best of the young generation and will, before the end of the year, be around Top Ten.
His next tournament is blue clay Madrid. Last year, he was upset by Lopez on first round. So, nothing to lose ! Go Milos ! We are all behind you, here ! Hope he knows there is this blog about him and to support him too !
PS : I wonder how many people visit the blog on average ? Would be interesting to have the figures one day !
- Robert
  April 29th, 2012 - 18:31
  
  Sorry for the bad spelling here and there. I should have read it twice !
- multiformous
  April 29th, 2012 - 18:42
  
  If Milos isn’t the best of the new generation, then he has certainly matured and gotten the results the quickest. The net approaches definitely need some work, but I think that will improve with more and more match play. The best way to learn those touch shots is to do it in a match situation. There’s only so much you can do in practice for techniques at the net. Good fundamentals will allow him to be more creative and consistent with the volleys and dropshots.
  
  As for site stats, we had 321 views yesterday (164 unique visitors) with a 30 day average of 125 per day. Our current single day views record is 1 237, which occured on March 25 of this year when Milos pulled out of Miami after rolling his ankle. Guess a lot of people were looking for news on Milos that day. The hits go up when Raonic is doing really well or if something bad happens. I like it better when he’s winning.
  - Robert
    April 30th, 2012 - 06:40
    
    Fantastic ! The blog is really doing well ! Very few comments though. Milos really has supporters now and he deserves it.
    I am very confident with Milos net playing. I find he goes more and more to the net. It is so good to have an attacker nowadays, especially on grass and hard court. I am sure it is there that he will upset players as Ferrer and, may be in the future Nadal. Be that as it may, I love Milos game and his behaviour on court when he wins and when he loses. Of course, I prefer when he wins !
2014_US_Open_Champion
April 29th, 2012 - 12:47

milos has to take the next step and learn what it takes to beat guys like ferrer. It’s unfortunate, really, that he couldn’t pull this one out: facing nadal, in spain, on clay, would have been an incomparable learning experience – just as facing djokovic at the AO would have been a great experience. Milos has to seek out these important matches with the very best because that’s the only way he’s going to learn if he has what it takes to be the very best, too.
- Robert
  April 30th, 2012 - 06:45
  
  You are right, but he is getting more and more opportunities. He beat Murray which is such a performance ! He is getting better with Ferrer, but Ferrer is very good on clay ! Look how it was difficult for Nadal to beat Ferrer in Barcelona ! To take Ferrer to two tie breaks this time was really a very good performance for Milos !
Tomaso
April 28th, 2012 - 19:30

So close: Ferrer had to play his best to win, and he knew it, too, as you could tell from his euphoric reaction at the end of the match. Of course it was disappointing for Milos, and for us, but there’s lots to feel good about, too. Milos’ serve was off by about 5%, and there were too many unforced errors; otherwise he would have won the first set — two break-points in game 6 and again in game 8, opportunites lost to unforced errors. Then again, he played like a champ in game 11 when Ferrer was up triple-break point, and Milos fought back to hold serve — amazing composure!
So the good news is that even on a “slightly off” day, Milos pretty-much held his own against one of the all-time great players on clay. Two tie-breaks: the match could easily have gone the other way. And at least half of the unforced errors were attempts at winners, that went just a bit wide, or long, or into the net — these are “good” errors: if he keeps going for those shots — as he should — over time more and more of the errors will turn into winners. I can hardly believe the improvement from last year, with some of the long rallies we saw from Milos today, regardless of who finally won the point. And there’s still more improvement to come, I’m sure.
For anyone following points and rankings, this Monday Milos will gain a net 90 points (+180 for Barcelona – minus 90 from 2012 Estoril) — for a probable ranking of 22 or 23. Then he has only 30 points to defend for the entire month of May, and 3 chances (Madrid, Rome and French Open) to pick up points; maybe enough to make top-twenty. If not by then, he has 90 points to defend in June, and a good chance to gain more than that. Then, as a result of his injury last year at Wimbledon, Milos has zero points to defend for three and a half months — all the way till mid-October — all points will be to the good! Top-ten by the end of 2012? It’s within reach!
- wacb
  April 30th, 2012 - 19:35
  
  Within reach? If he keeps playing this well it’s pretty good chances to be top 10 or close. Amazing!