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

Milos Rolls Into Semis in Barcelona

Milos Raonic notched one of the biggest victories of his career today defeating world number 4 Andy Murray in the quarter-finals of the Barcelona Open, 6-4 7-6(3).

This was nothing short of a stellar match from Raonic. The serve was highly effective, allowing Milos to come into net and put points away early. This was the strategy from the beginning. The aggressive play was necessary to keep from entering to protracted rallies with Murray. Even when he wasn't able to end the points with a quick one-two punch off the first serve, Raonic was moving so well that he had plenty of time to run around the backhand and unload on the ball. These forehands penetrated the court extremely well despite the slow conditions. Milos didn't even face a break point in the first set.

Murray adjusted his game in the second and found himself in more of Raonic's service games. While Milos had the clear advantage in the first set and was more or less dictating play, the second set went back and forth with each player getting a break of serve. Raonic did well to keep Murray from taking control of the match. The set needed to be decided with a tiebreak and took care of business behind some solid serving.

This is a huge win, obviously. Not only does it put Raonic into the semis, but it's a decisive victory over at Top 5 player in Andy Murray. Milos looked good out there on the clay. Really good. I was blown away by some of the winners Milos was hitting, all while keeping the errors to a minimum. Raonic looked like he belonged out there against Murray, who is easily the best active player who has yet to win a major tournament. Being able to take a set off Federer before ultimately losing the match was something of a milestone. This is much more. What else is there for me to say? I'll let Raonic speak for himself on this one:

"It's very, very difficult and a big plus in confidence for me," said Raonic. "Clay's not his best surface, but he consistently does well on it. Last year he reached the semi-finals at the French Open, Monte-Carlo and Rome, so he can play really well on it. For me, it was a big win, regardless of the surface." (Source: ATP)

Up next for Raonic is clay court specialist David Ferrer. The Spanish Bulldog is currently ranked No.6 in the world and has a perfect 3-0 record head-to-head against Milos. This will be an extremely tough outing for Raonic who will likely have to work even harder to break through Ferrer's return game.

Sportsnet will be replaying the Raonic v Murray match at 2PM EST today. If you missed it this morning or just want to relive the action, now's your chance. You can read more from Sportsnet here.

The Claymentum just keeps rolling on!

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Raonic Dismisses Almagro in Barcelona

Milos Raonic will advance to the quarter-finals of the Barcelona Open after defeating  [6] Nicolas Almagro in straight sets, 6-3 6-3.

This was a solid performance and an impressive win from Milos. He broke Alamagro twice while saving two break points on his serve in the first set. The return game was working well for Raonic giving him the clear edge in the match. Milos protected his second serve well, losing just one point on it during the second set. Alamagro failed to save the lone break point he faced in the second set, which was all Raonic needed to secure the victory. Milos was barely challenged on his serve in the latter stages of the match. It took Raonic just 68 minutes to get the win.

This was a big win on clay against a player who was until very recently ranked No.10 in the world. But there's no time for Raonic to sit back and relax. He will face No.2 seed Andy Murray in the quarter-finals tomorrow. This will be the first time that Raonic has faced Murray. It'll be interesting to see how their games match up on the red clay.

It looks like Sportsnet ONE will have live coverage of the Raonic v Murray quarter-final starting tomorrow at 6:30 AM EST. Looks like we'll need to put on a fresh pot...

Great stuff from Milos, and the Claymentum is building!

-multi

Raonic Through To Third Round In Barcelona

Milos Raonic defeated Igor Andreev in straight sets today to reach the third round of the Barcelona Open, 6-4  6-1.

This was a much more consistent performance from Milos who had a shaky start to the clay court season in Monte Carlo a couple of weeks ago. Raonic didn't hit any double faults and he didn't face a single break point during the match. Those are very promising statistics. The second set was dominated by Milos, who was frighteningly stingy on when it came to losing points on his serve.

It hasn't taken long for Raonic to get his at together on clay. But he will need all the momentum and confidence he can muster for his opponent in the third round: No.6 seed Nicolas Almagro. He is no slouch, especially on clay. We know that Milos defeated Almagro in the semis of Chennai earlier this year before going on to win the title, but the conditions were much more favourable to Raonic in that match. Hopefully Milos can keep this claymentum going.

Sportsnet ONE will have coverage of the Round of 16 starting tomorrow at 11:30 AM EST (April 26). It is not clear at this time if they'll be showing the Raonic v Almagro live.

-multi

Raonic Off To Winning Start In Barcelona

Milos Raonic defeated Alejandro Falla at the Barcelona Open today, 6-4 7-6(3).

In the opening set, Raonic was dominant on his first serve points on the rare occasion that one landed in. He was able to avoid having to face a break point, while Falla had to defend against six during the first set. The serve wasn't quite as effective for Milos in the second, but he got the job done. Here is what he had to say about today's result:

"Today was not the greatest of days, but I'm happy to put the win together and get it right. I feel like there's a lot I can do better so I'm happy to give myself another chance in the next round. Falla is a very good player. My serve was key in getting the win."

(source: ATP)

Raonic, the No.11 seed, will face the winner of Igor Andreev and Diego Junqueira in the second round. You can view the draw here. Milos is in (2) Andy Murray's quarter of the draw and could potentially face (6) Nicolas Almagro should the seeds hold. It appears that Sportsnet will begin coverage of the Barcelona Open on Thursday, April 26 when the Round of 16 gets underway.

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Raonic takes early exit from Monte Carlo

Albert Montanes defeated Milos Raonic in three sets in the first round of the Monte Carlo Rolex Masters, 6-2 3-6 6-3.

Raonic earned the first break point of the match at 1-2, but failed to convert it. During his next service game, Raonic followed up a double fault with a flurry of errors to hand Montanes the break and the lead. In typical Spanish clay courter fashion, Montanes was chasing everything down and putting nearly every ball back in play. He was certainly making Milos hit those extra shots. Raonic was looking unsure of himself and it wasn't long before Montanes secured the insurance break and served out the set with ease. Not only was Montanes playing well, but Raonic's first serve was at 50% for the set.

Raonic held to open the second set, but found himself in a bit of trouble again in his next service game after Montanes came up with some nice passing shots. Milos wasn't able to save both break points and dropped serve for the third time in the match. There was a glimmer of hope when Montanes was looking to consolidate the break and Raonic had two break points of his own at 15-40. Those chances quickly evaporated. After holding comfortably, Raonic was quickly rewarded with a 0-40 lead on Montanes next service game. It was a loose game from the Spaniard and now Milos was back in the match. From 1-3 down, Milos ran off five straight games to level the match at one set a piece.

While Raonic's serve had improved slightly during the second set, he was still struggling to start the third. He couldn't keep all that momentum going. Montanes got the break with Raonic serving at 2-3 after Milos slightly overhit a forehand that went wide.  Raonic opted to change racquets before Montanes was to serve for the match. It didn't work -- Montanes held at love to win the match.

It was a disappointing loss for Raonic. The serve wasn't nearly effective enough and he made far too many forehand errors. For the majority of the match, Milos was in a funk while Montanes was flying high. It's not the most encouraging way to start off the clay court season. The ranking for Raonic will take a slight hit next week since he wasn't able to defend his R16 points from Monte Carlo last year.

Next up: Barcelona.

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Raonic to face Murray in Miami

Milos Raonic defeated Arnaud Clement (FRA) in straight sets at the Sony Ericsson Open today, 7-6(7) 6-2.

Raonic was up an early break in the first set, but Clement was able to get back on serve and take the set to a tiebreak. It was a close one, but Milos was able to edge Clement out and win the breaker. The second set was all Raonic. He didn't face a break point during the second, and he brought his ace total up to 17 for the match.

For his efforts, Raonic will have the pleasure of facing No.4 seed Andy Murray in the third round. Murray is looking to bounce back after a disappointing early exit at the BNP Paribas Open. The draw has not been kind to Milos as of late, who had to face Roger Federer in the third round last week. But that's really determined by his current ranking. By the time the third round gets underway, there will be streams available online and Sportsnet ONE will have live coverage of the tournament.

The Raonic vs Murray match will probably be on Sunday, March 25. It's going to be tough for Milos, that much is certain. He was able to keep the first set close with Federer and come out on top in a tiebreak. The gameplan will likely be similar heading into the Murray match. Andy is notorious for mixing up his shots and he has a great return game. He won't give Raonic the kind of rhythm he likes so he can unload the forehand and get ahead in the points. It almost goes without saying that the serve, which was lacking a bit today, is going to have to be solid. If he can stay with Murray and keep the sets close, the pressure of the bombing serve might result in an opening for Raonic to steal the set away with a late break or in a tiebreaker.

It's another big test for Milos which will no doubt be a treat to watch.

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Federer bests Raonic in three sets

Roger Federer came back from one set down to defeat Milos Raonic in the 3rd round of the BNP Paribas Open, 6(4)-7 6-2 6-4.

This was a highly anticipated match and it certainly didn't disappoint. Both Milos and Roger were on cruise control during the first set, each playing holding serve without much difficulty. Federer suffered only the slightest hiccup on his serve facing the only break point of the set. Raonic was finally able to gain the advantage in the tiebreak and successfully served out the set after getting the single minibreak.

The start of the second set saw Raonic get off to a slow start. Federer began to open up just as the effectiveness of Milos' first serve dropped off the map. From this point on, Raonic was forced to play catch-up to the great Mr. Federer who broke Milos twice during the second set. While Raonic was able to steady himself to start the third, it wasn't long before Federer would take the lead yet again. It may not have amounted to much but when Federer was serving for the match at 0-15, Raonic decided not to challenge a close call that would have been overturned in his favour. Raonic looked to be building steam for a push to get back on serve, but he let an opportunity slip away by not taking a chance on a challenge late in the match.

Raonic didn't look particularly nervous having to face perhaps the greatest player ever for the first time on a fairly big stage. He was more than able to hold his own against Federer, especially throughout the first set and the early games of the third. But Roger is still Roger. It was a great effort from Milos to push Federer to three sets and it was a real treat to watch. Raonic had his chances, but ultimately wasn't as consistent as his vastly more experienced opponent. Hopefully this isn't the last time that Milos has a crack at Roger. It might have been a different story if this was a best of five set match.

Overall it was a very strong and promising performance from Raonic. Not many players can say they won the first they ever played against Roger Federer. That's kind of a big deal in my books. It's just a shame that this was a third round match and not a quarter or semi-final.

It's a bit of an early exit, but there's another ATP Masters 1000 event just around the corner. Milos is on the players list for the Sony Ericsson Open in Miami. Perhaps the draw will be a little more favourable this time.

-multi

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

Milos Raonic defeats Benjamin Becker – game by game

Milos Raonic defeats Benjamin Becker, 6-4, 6-4, in Memphis at the Regions Morgan Keegan Championships semi-finals.  My "game-by-game" recap, written as the match progressed, follows...

Update - Match Time: 12 min

The game started with a bit of a scare, with Becker running away with the first game on his serve, and Milos going down 15-30 on his serve in the next. Milos did hold on the second game of the match, but he only made 2 first serves on 7 points in the game.

The third game showed a few unforced errors by Raonic, so Becker went up 40-15 before he made an unforced error and then suffered Milos coming into the net to go to deuce. An ace by Becker and some good play coming toward the net gave him the eventual hold though. Becker's up 2-1, still on serve in the first set.

Match Time: 0:14

Milos showed us some more of what we've been seeing on his service game. He put it away quickly at love.

0:18

Becker answered back with a fairly comfortable service game himself.

0:22

Milos answered back with a hold at 30.

0:25

Becker answered back with a good hold himself. Becker is playing surprisingly well for being in his first semi-final since 2010.

0:29

Milos answered back with a good game himself though... Pounding in a couple more aces.

0:32

At 15-15, Becker had his first double fault, which gave Raonic his first real lead on a Becker service game. The longest rally of the match followed, and Milos earned his first break point.

0:33

Becker made a similar error into the next point, giving Milos that much needed break and a chance to serve for the set at 5-4. Becker's been playing well, but, as the commentator mentioned, a momentary lapse on your serve when playing against Milos is magnified, since you know it'll be hard to get back. Milos has only been broken once in the tourney so far (yesterday versus Rochus).

0:36

Milos hammered 2 aces and a serve that Becker was ALMOST able to return. On the next point, Becker guessed the wrong way and the game that sealed the set was won without even having to get in a rally.

0:45

Becker was probably affected by the loss of a set where he kept up with his opponent so well.  Milos broke Becker in the first game of the second set at love, and put away the next game quite easily.

Update at Match Time 0:48, 3:28 PM local time (Central Time)

A couple of errors by Raonic allowed Becker to take the next game, after only winning a couple of points in the first two games.

0:52

Milos showed us his impressive versatility in the next game, winning handily and in style.

0:56

Becker started the next game with some very good tennis to take the first point.  He then followed up after a good rally with a good passing shot to go up 30-0.  Milos pushed the next return of serve long.  Becker made a couple of errors following that though, before finally winning the game on a wicked forehand.

Match Time - 1 hour

Milos sent a second serve long, but he did get the point since Becker decided not to challenge.  We only knew afterwards when we got to see hawk-eye.  I wonder if there's a way to see stats on how often line judges are wrong when there is no challenge...

1:02

Becker got his first point on a point where Milos made his first serve with a wicked passing forehand.  He missed his next attempt at a similar forehand though to give Milos the game.  Milos up a set and a break in the second set (6-4, 4-2).

1:04

Becker won the next game at love very quickly with some great serving.  Again, playing very well, but those small, momentary lapses on his serve seem to have cost him an otherwise very well played game.  It has to be daunting to consider how hard it is to get a break back against Milos!  Rochus was able to do it yesterday, can Becker hope to do the same?  4-3 for Raonic in the second set with his serve coming up.

1:08

Becker won his second point on a Raonic first serve to start the next game, but a very good volley game Milos the next point, before he put away aces #12 and #13.  His 14th ace hit Becker in the back as he was turning to avoid it.  Milos takes the game to go up 5-3.

1:10

Becker did lapse again on the next game, including his 3rd double fault.  Milos put a shot wide when trying to go down the line to earn a match point to make it 30-30.  Milos put another one long on the next point, and then did very well to chase down a drop shot despite pushing just wide across the net.  5-4 for Milos as he gets ready to serve out the match.

Match Time: 1:15

Raonic has to hit a second serve on the first point of the 10th game of the second set, but put away a wicked inside-out forehand followed by an ace to go up 30-0.  An amazing serve that Becker barely returned gave an oppourtunity to punish a forehand, which he did, and what looked to be a 15th ace turned out not to be after a successful challenge by Becker.  Raonic was probably a little unsettled by this, so it's understandable that he double faulted on that point before hitting another bullet of a serve that Becker was unable to return.

Game, set, and match Raonic in 1 hr and 15 min.

19 conseutive sets, 9 consecutive games won by Milos.  Melzer will need to muster up something special tomorrow to stop Raonic...  looking forward to it!  Canadian tennis history... can Milos, the only one to win multiple titles this year, add a third?  I think yes.

--wacb