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

26Oct/13Off

Paris 1000

Update, 31 Oct:

Milos goes down in straights- a tight first set and subsequent tie-break: Berdych wins 7-6(13), 6-4. I didn't see it, but Kyle has commented that he "imploded", must have been near the end of the second set. Anyone have anything to add?

All in all, Milos had a good run near the end of the season, but probably bit off more than he could chew in retrospect. His last ditch effort to make the tour finals was unsuccessful after all, but man did he try.

In the match today he had 18 aces but 5 fouble faults. In the first set he saw 3 break points and faced none himself. He was unable to convert. He did not have a chance to break in the second set, but Berdych converted one of his total of 3 chances. While his first serve % was 68% in the first set, it dropped below 50% in the second set...

Looking forward to 2014!

Tebbutt's take: http://www.tenniscanada.com/index.php?title=TEBBUTT:-RAONIC-OUT-IN-PARIS&pid=5112

[Nice pic of Milos at net with Berdych at end, and good details about Milos' "underhand ace" to finish the match with Haase.]

Hallowe'en schedule!

The 3rd round match between Milos Raonic vs. Thomas Berdych will take place on Court 1, not before 4:30pm local (11:30am Eastern). As the Frenchmen and top-4 clog up Centre Stage, top-10ers like Raonic, Berdych and del Po are relegated to Court 1 for the day (though Almagro/Wawrinka did break that mold- they played first on Centre Court today, with Wawrinka winning 6-3, 6-2).

Update: October 30th:

Milos wins 6-3, 6-4. Gotta like how Haase was only able to win 3% (1/31) first serve pts. He won 6 of Milos' 16 second serve pts. Robin Haase had no break point opportunities while Raonic was able to break twice in five total chances. Total points were 58-41 for Milos Raonic.

Update, 29 Oct:

Milos is up versus Robin Haase not before 8:30pm local, or 3:30pm Eastern. He's following Federer (not before 7:30pm), the Main Event on Court Central - it's as if they were thinking about us Canadians at home when they scheduled it : ). Hopefully folks don't have to work late tomorrow!

Tues, Oct 29:

Update: Pospisil gets a break. He just started against Andujar after Monfils was forced to withdraw after suffering an injury during practice yesterday. Full, long article here:

http://www.tennisearth.com/m/news/tennisNews/Vasek-Pospisil-vs-Pablo-Andujar-2013-Paris-Masters-Round-1-Preview-869854.htm

Monday, October 28th:

Pospisil is up tomorrow (Tuesday) against Monfils on Centre Court. Raonic is not scheduled, but Djokovic is up as the final match on Centre Court so the 2nd round is starting tomorrow... Milos'll probably play on Wednesday.

Pospisil's match is 2nd up on the main court, starting around 1pm local (8am Eastern).

Sat, Oct 26th:

#ANYTHINGisPOSPISIL

Vashy is up against Feds now in Basel semi. Down a break in the 1st set, and potentially about to go down another... [...but the match did not continue on in its FedEXpected way; see Comments for more.]

From Sam yesterday:

"Paris draw has been announced. Only way for Milos to make the World Tour finals without someone else withdrawing is to make the finals and get a little help with 2 of Gasquet, Tsonga, Wawrinka and Federer not going deep into the tournament. His draw is ideal in my opinion. First Round bye, second round istomin/qualifier, third round berdych/pospisil/monfils, quarters ferrer/simon, semis nadal/tsonga

Berdych is a guy that Milos has been able to beat, Ferrer I believe is the most beatable on this surface out of the top 4 seeds, and Nadal typically has not been as dominant at the end of season tournaments. Obviously a tough ask to make the final but a good season none the less particularly the second half.

As for Pospisil, who's made the semis this week in Basel, he gets a tough first round opponent in Monfils and should he get through that a rematch of his big Rogers Cup victory over Berdych. I would love to see a Milos/Vasek R16 showdown to finish one of their seasons off in Paris, but of course Vasek has Federer to worry about tomorrow first."

Posted by wacb from WordPress for BlackBerry.

Posted by wacb

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  1. Milos earned a set point on his serve in the tiebreak and went on to lose the next 3 points (2 on his own serve) to lose the set then opened the second set getting broken in the first game.

  2. Wow is Milos ever imploding right now

  3. Milos beats Haase convincingly 6-3, 6-4.

    • A cheeky underhand service ace to close it out.

      • I remember Stakhovsky doing that to Milos a while back, wan’t happy with it. Sergei was obviously very frustrated and it did throw Milos off his game for a while- this was back before Milos could harness the confidence and just had a whole bunch of power and skill to throw at opponents. I’m sure he’s still up there among the most frustrating players to face on tour, especially in front of Canadian crowds.

  4. Major disappointment for Vasek today: a 4-6 6-2 4-6 loss against ATP#52 Pablo Andujar, replacement for Monfils, who had to withdraw after a wrist injury in practice. Vasek spotted Andujar a break in the first game of the match, did the same to start the third set. Still, it’s been a great season for Canada’s #2; he’ll likely start 2014 at #31 or #32, seeded for the Australian Open. Tebbutt’s take: http://www.tenniscanada.com/index.php?title=TEBBUTT:-POSPISIL-ENDS-EVENTFUL-2013&pid=5102 <<

    • He’s got the talent to compete with almost anyone on tour, but his inconsistency leaves him vulnerable for losses like this one.

      • Let’s remember that Milos, too, was inconsistent on his way to #31 in 2011, and has had bouts of inconsistency since then. I think we have a lot to look forward to, with both of our guys, in 2014. My prediction: top-8 for Milos, top-16 for Vasek: with Daniel, a Canadian dream-team for Davis Cup!

        • Agreed. Was not criticism of vasek but rather pointing out that he still has some work to be done. I think top 20 is very attainable for him in 2014.

  5. Vasek played a hell of a game against Fed.
    He showed he has a well rounded game and look out he is on the move.
    Confidence breeds confidence.
    We now have 3 Canadian Tennis Players who can play toe to toe with the best of them.
    Gonna be a great 2014 season.

    • Was great to watch, awesome effort. Looking forward to Aussie Open too, two seeded (32 or better) Canadian players in men’s draw? Nice.

    • End of second set, looking like another routine win for Roger, Mirka texting out an order for post-match pizza… Vasek broke back, won the tie-break — “Did not see that coming!” from a commentator… and next thing we know Vasek is up a break in the third, looking good for a win. Roger managed to break back, then break again at 5-5, serve it out for 7-5 in the third. So Roger got the win, but it was NOT routine. In spite of a neck injury that affected his serve and forehand, Vasek looked the sharper player for half the match at least. He’s really earned his seed-worthy #31 ranking.


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