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

Raonic outlasts Baghdatis in Stockholm

Milos Raonic defeated 2009 Champion Marcos Baghdatis in the first round of the If Stockholm Open today, 7-6(5) 6-7(4) 6-4.

Raonic's game seemed perfectly suited to the fast and predictable indoor hardcourts. The serve was most effective when Milos had to find his way out of trouble, keeping his emotions in check while still being able to hit big. The heavy groundstrokes were certainly working for Raonic, dictating play and keeping Baghdatis on the run. Break chances were something of a rarity during the first set, with each player only able to earn one each and neither being able to convert. When it came down to a tiebreak, Raonic again had to rely on his serve to get him out of a tight spot and put the first set away.

With Baghdatis serving at 2-3 in the second, Raonic hit a perfect backhand up the line to earn to the first break points of the set. Baghdatis won four points in a row from 15-40 to keep the match break-free. Raonic continued to hit his forehands with a lot of pace, racking up the winners while keeping the errors under control. Baghdatis was applying some serious pressure with Milos serving at 5-5, but Raonic kept his cool and served his way to safety yet again. Surprise: another tiebreak! Milos got the first mini-break advantage, but Marcos got on a roll after hitting a spectacular forehand on the run when it looked like he was totally out of the point. This match was going the distance.

It wouldn't have been shocking if the match carried on without any service breaks and into a deciding tiebreak. But at 2-2 in the third, the unthinkable happened: Milos got the break. Not only did he take the lead, but he promptly followed it up with a hold at love. Truly impressive. On top of that, Raonic held at love again serving at 4-3. Raonic wasn't the greatest at the net throughout the match, but he made up for it on match point by holding his ground and using every inch of his reach to keep the ball in play and force the error from Baghdatis.

Raonic faced one break point, which came in the first set. Baghdatis saved the first four break points against him, but not the fifth. There wasn't a whole lot between the two during the match, but that break was absolutely crucial. I'm sure neither player wanted to try their luck in another tiebreak. Also, Milos hit 22 aces. He's back. It helps to be playing indoors. We may see the return of the '20+ Aces = Win' rule in this tournament.

In other news, the more astute viewer may have noticed that Milos was sporting a stylish Lacoste headband during the match. Thoughts? Perhaps more importantly, Raonic had a strip of kinesio tape running up the inside of his right leg from his knee to his thigh. This is usually just a preventative measure for muscle strains or hyper-extension.

Raonic will face Philipp Petzschner in the secound round on Wednesday. Petzschner defeated Raonic earlier this year on grass in Halle, where the German made a run to the final in front a home crowd. Look for Milos to even up the head to head record with some blistering serves on the indoor hardcourt.

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Raonic loses to Ferrer in Shanghai

In their third meeting this year, David Ferrer defeated Milos Raonic at the Shanghai Rolex Masters in straight sets, 7-5 7-6(7).

This was actually a close match that could have easily swung in Raonic's favour. Milos had the break advantage in the first set but couldn't hold on to it. Ferrer was perfect on break points, converting both of his chances to overtake Raonic and capture the first set. It was a similar story in the second, with Raonic taking the lead and Ferrer having to fight to get back on serve. Milos even had a set point in the tiebreak but couldn't capitalize on the chance.

With Milos serving well, hitting 11 aces and not a single double fault, he had a real chance to take Ferrer to a deciding set. But the pitbull's persistence paid off in the end, as it often does.

The good news is that Milos will be playing in Stockholm next week, which is a 250-level event played indoors on a hardcourt. There he will join the likes of Juan Martin del Potro, Gael Monfils, and Robin Soderling, who is looking to make his own comeback from illness and injury. The indoor hardcourts have been kind to Raonic in the past (remember San Jose), so look for the serve to be cracking in Sweden next week. Milos may even be seeded in the Top 8 for the tournament, but we'll have to wait for the official draw to be sure.

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Raonic through to 2nd Round in Shanghai

In the first round of the Shanghai Rolex Masters, Milos Raonic defeated Michael Llodra (FRA) for the third time this year, 6-7(2) 6-2 7-6(5). Raonic will face David Ferrer (ESP) in the next round tomorrow.

Raonic rallied after losing the first set in a tiebreak to defeat Michael Llodra in Shanghai today. There were no breaks of serve in the first set, though Raonic had to save 3 break points just to stay with Llodra. The Frenchman won 91% of his first serve points during the set, preventing Raonic from earning any break chances against him.

Things began to pick up for Milos in the second, breaking his opponent twice while remaining steady on his serve. Each player was broken once in the third, and a tiebreak was needed to decide the match. Raonic edged out Llodra in the breaker who had as many double faults (5) in the third set as Raonic had aces.

Next up for Raonic is the No.3 seed David Ferrer. If you remember back at the Australian Open, it was Ferrer who ended Raonic's run at the first major of the year in the Round of 16. That match required four sets, but Ferrer easily dispatched Raonic again in straight sets at Monte Carlo just a few months later. Obviously it'll be another tough test for Milos as he assesses his progress on the comeback trail.

EDIT: There has been some slight confusion as to whether Sportsnet will show live coverage of the Raonic vs. Ferrer match. As of right now, it appears that it will be shown on tape delay as per usual. Sportsnet tweeted that they will post the time that his match will air on Wednesday -- so be sure to follow their twitter feed for updates.

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Raonic out of Rakuten Japan Open

For the second year in a row, Rafael Nadal defeated Milos Raonic in the second round of the Rakuten Japan Open in straight sets, 7-5 6-3.

The first set was quite close, with Raonic serving extremely well. The serve was always going to be the key to the match for Raonic, especially against Rafa who has a greater chance of winning the points as the rallies become longer. The danger with this strategy is that it only takes a slight lapse in concentration to give Rafa a chance to do some damage. Milos did well to keep the majority of the points short on his serve and was able to keep Nadal at bay, albeit only temporarily. As is often the case with the best players in the world, Rafa was able to raise his level of play just as Raonic let up slightly while serving at 5-6. Nadal converted the first and only break point chance of the first set the snatch the set away before getting into a tiebreak.

From there, Raonic began to show signs of frustration. The forehand wasn't as consistent as it needed to be, and the few times he came to the net left something to be desired. Nadal only needed one break point to take the lead in the second, and continued to hold relatively comfortably to win the match. Raonic didn't earn a single break chance against Nadal, and was only able to get to deuce once on Rafa's serve.

The match wasn't a walkover by any means, and Raonic did have some looks against Nadal. After the match, Nadal said that Raonic's serve was "impressive, especially at the beginning of the match." Unfortunately, the sharpness and match readiness in the other aspects of his game just weren't there for Raonic. That will come back with time.

Luckily, we won't have to wait long to see Raonic in action again because the ATP Masters 1000 event in Shanghai is coming up next week. According to their schedule, Sportsnet ONE will begin coverage of the Shanghai Rolex Masters on Monday, October 10 at 9AM ET. Hopefully Roanic will have a slightly more forgiving draw in Shanghai. Running up against Nadal in the second round of your first tournament back isn't exactly the easiest way to build some momentum after returning from injury.

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Raonic Begins Comeback With A Win

Milos Raonic, in his first ATP Tour match since June, defeated Yuichi Sugita (JPN) in the first round of the Rakuten Japan Open, 6(4)-7 6-3 7-6(1).

This match did not appear to be streamed live anywhere online, so we were left with watching the live scores ticker to get an idea of how the match was playing out. Raonic seemed to have the edge early on, earning the first break of the match to go up 3-2 on his serve in the first. Sugita would immediately break back and take the set to a tiebreak. The Japanese wildcard jumped out to an early lead and eventually put the first set away.

Raonic would register the only break of serve in the second set converting a lone break point, later having to save one himself to maintain the lead. The third set was close. Raonic served extremely well in the final set, notching 7 aces and hitting 83% of his first serves. Neither player was able to earn a break chance, resulting in the set having to be decided in a tiebreak. Raonic dominated the breaker, emphatically closing out the match by nearly shutting Sugita out of the tiebreak.

One thing we can say for sure about the match is that Raonic was generally serving well. The first serve dipped slightly in the second, but he still managed to win that set by a single break. Raonic also a racked up a total of 16 aces, a promising sign on a hardcourt. Perhaps the key takeaway from this match is that Milos was able to rally from a set down to win in three sets. Compare this to his Davis Cup loss to Amir Weintraub where Raonic won the first set, only to lose the following three. It's hard to make a direct comparison between these matches since I wasn't able to watch the match with Sugita live, but it could be an indication that Raonic may have tried to come back a little too quickly for Davis Cup. Raonic says he's looking "forward to [the] challenge" of playing Nadal, and that it should be a good test for how the comeback is progressing.

The biggest comeback obstacle for Raonic is his opponent in the Round of 16: Rafael Nadal. We saw this coming when we first had a look at the draw, provided Milos was able to get through his first round match. Rafa had an easy time in his opener winning 6-3 6-2 over Go Soeda, another Japanese wildcard. Raonic vs Nadal: Tokyo Showdown - Part Deux will be played on Thursday, or more accurately, "tomorrow night" if you're in North America. Here is the order of play for "today".

We may have more luck watching the second round match, since there should be coverage streaming online by then. The only problem is accounting for the time zone difference. I wasn't able to stay up to "watch" the end of the match on live score ticker last night, and Raonic was first on court! It should be easier to get up for a match with actual video. It isn't very often you get to see Raonic take on the likes of Rafa Nadal.

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Davis Cup – Day One Results

Canada split the opening day singles rubber matches in their World Group Playoffs tiebreak with Israel today.

The first match featured Vasek Pospisil who defeated Dudi Sela in a rather lengthy 5 set match, 7-6(4)  6-7(6)  6-1  6-7(2)  6-3. The momentum shifted back and forth throughout the match, most notably after Sela won the second set in a tiebreak and completely went away in the third. When Pospisil was serving well and the forehand was working well, he was able to dictate the points effectively. Sela made headway when Pospisil's game broke down, and fed off the crowd during some crucial points.

Things got a little heated during the second set when Sela thought some line calls were going against him. After losing a long rally where he thought he heard an out call for one of Pospisil's shots, Sela stormed the umpire's chair and walked halfway up the ladder to get right in his face. It was a tense moment, to say the least, and I can honestly say this was the first time I ever saw anyone climb up to the umpire to yell at him.

For Milos Raonic's return from injury he was matched up against Amir Weintraub. Raonic got off to a good start winning the first set, but we learned that he came down with a case of food poisoning a couple of days ago. This obviously did not bode well. As the match wore on, Weintraub picked up his level of play considerably. He was looking more and more energized as Raonic appeared to be running out of gas.

The second set was close, with Weintraub getting the late break to even the match at one set all. From there, Raonic couldn't get back out in front. His form fell off considerably later in the match, likely as a result of the rust Raonic accumulated during the time off. Weintraub went on to take the match in convincing fashion, 5-7  7-5  6-3  6-1. It is clear now that it will take some time before Raonic is match-tough again.

As of right now, Daniel Nestor and Vasek Pospisil are scheduled to play the doubles rubber against Jonathan Erlich and Andy Ram tomorrow. That match will start at 8AM ET on Saturday morning, and will be shown live on Sportsnet ONE.