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

Raonic Notches First Ever Main Draw Win at Roland Garros

Milos Raonic defeated Ruben Ramirez Hidalgo in the first round of the French Open today, 6-4 6-2 6-2. He will face American Jesse Levine in the second round later this week.

Raonic got off to a sluggish start in this match. He had to save several break points throughout the majority of the first set.  The serve percentage was abysmal at both ends of the match, finishing with 50% overall. While Ramirez Hidalgo seemed to be the better player during the first set, the match turned dramatically in Raonic's favour when he got the first break of serve. He took a 5-4 lead and served out the set without any trouble. From then on, Ramirex Hidlago almost completely went away. It was all Raonic in the final two sets as he cruised to victory and was rarely challenged along the way.

Since the match was not played on a TV court, there was no way to stream it or watch it live. I had to rely on the live score tracker for updates. View the stats here.

This was Raonic's first win in the main draw at Roland Garros. He lost to Michael Berrer in the first round last year.

Milos' second round match with Jesse Levine won't be played until Wednesday at the earliest. Levine is currently ranked No. 131 and defeated Benjamin Becker in the first round, winning in straight sets. We'll have to wait until the order of play is released to see if he'll be on a show court this time.

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Raonic loses to Mayer

There will be no match with Rafael Nadal in the second round of the Rome Masters this week. Florian Mayer defeated Milos Raonic in straight sets today, 7-6(5) 6-4.

The first set was about as close as it could possibly get. There were no break points to speak of and the only thing separating the two was a single mini-break in the tiebreaker that went Mayer's way. The second set was a slightly different story. It was still close until the latter stages of the set, but this time we had some break point chances. Unfortunately, Milos couldn't save the one he faced and was unable to convert against Mayer. The first serve for Raonic dropped off significantly in the second which ultimately allowed Mayer into more of his service games.

So the meeting with Nadal in the second round isn't going to happen. With Raonic taking the early exit from Rome, we'll have to wait until the French Open later this month before we see him in action again. Since his ranking will be around 24 (give or take), Raonic probably won't have to face a seeded player until perhaps the third round. Of course, we'll know for sure when the draw is announced on Friday, May 25.

A disappointing loss today to Mayer today, which I guess you could call an upset since he is ranked one spot lower than Raonic.

UPDATE: Milos is just one spot outside of the Top 20 at No.21 after the new rankings were calculated today, which is a new career high! He's just 10 points behind No.20 Stanislas Wawrinka. Raonic will be Top 20 (and beyond) in no time.

Bring on the French Open!

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Raonic Pushes Federer to the Limit

Roger Federer barely survives his second round match with Milos Raonic at the Mutua Madrid Open, 4-6 7-5 7-6(4).

It was clear from the start that Federer was looking to test the lateral movement of Raonic, just like he did in Indian Wells. Raonic didn't waste any time making a statement in his first service game hitting three aces past Federer. The forehand from Raonic was making Federer look slow on the blue clay. On the other hand, the placement of Federer's serve was so precise, he was able to push Milos out wide and open up enough court so that he literally couldn't miss. No surprises from either player there.

The first chances came for Raonic at 4-4, taking a 0-40 lead after Federer missed an easy volley at the net. Roger then hit a forehand wide and giving Raonic the first break of the match. Milos made no mistake in serving it out. He wouldn't need a tiebreak to take a set off of Federer this time around.

Federer was in trouble straight away at the start of the second. Milos won a remarkable exchange at the net and was keeping the pressure on Roger's serve. Before the game was over, Federer had to defend against three break points to keep from falling behind. In his second service game, Milos finally lost a point on his first serve. He had won 44 straight up to that point since the start of the tournament. That's kind of ridiculous.

Raonic earned another break point with Federer serving at 5-5 and looking like he was going to hold comfortably. Had Milos been able to convert it, it surely would have been equal to a match point. Raonic had to hold to take it to a tiebreak. But Federer was coming on strong knowing he had to make a move. Raonic saved the first of two set points against him with an amazing one-handed backhand passing shot that looked rather Federer-esque. A timely dropshot would earn Federer the break and the set on his second chance. Again, Raonic vs. Federer was going to require a third set.

The opportunities continued to flow mainly in Raonic's direction in the third set. But Federer always had an answer and came up with some big serves of his own to get out of trouble. Milos soon found himself in the same position as the previous set, having to hold serve to force a tiebreak. We held our collective breath as Raonic let a shot go by him thinking it was going long, but it landed in. Always the cool customer, Raonic held it together and held serve with an ace.

Federer got the mini-break advantage on Raonic's first serve of the tiebreak. After getting back on serve, Milos gave a point away on a shot he clearly shouldn't have missed. It couldn't have come at a worse time since it gave Federer a couple match points. Roger sealed the match in style with a blistering return of serve for an outright winner. With that, the 2 hour and 13 minute epic was over.

"I felt like I was on top throughout the whole match," Raonic said. "I was there doing the right things and it was good. I will probably be more happy with the whole outcome in a few days but now is not the right time." [source: ATP]

Hopefully you were lucky enough to watch it live. This was a highly entertaining and competitive match throughout. It really should have been a semi or a final, it was definitely worthy of being one. Milos certainly had his chances and if just one more of his many break point opportunities had gone his way, Raonic would likely be celebrating his second victory of the year over a Top 4 player. Federer just got it done on the big points.

Despite the loss, we couldn't have been treated to a better match. All I have to say is: Next time, Roger...

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Raonic to face Federer in Madrid

Milos Raonic defeated David Nalbandian in straight sets at the Mutua Madrid Open, 6-4  6-4. Raonic will meet Roger Federer [3] in the second round.

You couldn't have asked for a better start to the match from Milos. Nalbandian wasn't serving particularly well and Raonic jumped on the opportunity to secure the early break. He was being aggressive with the forehand and it was paying off immediately. Milos backed it up by hitting a few aces and holding serve comfortably. From there it was business as usual as Raonic continued to serve well and didn't give Nalbandian any chance to get back on serve. The bombs down the T-line and the kick serve out wide were on full display today.

Nalbandian began to show some frustration in the second set, bouncing his racquet off the court after chunking a shot into the net. While Raonic was holding easily, Nalbandian had to work for his service games. Raonic earned the first break point of the second set with Nalbandian serving at 3-3, but squandered it by hitting a ball long. Milos wouldn't have to wait long for another chance however, earning another break point against Nalbandian in his next service game. This time, Nalbandian would gift it away on a double fault giving Raonic the 5-4 lead and the chance to serve for the match. There was no double fault when serving for it at 40-0 this time: Raonic put the match away with an ace and a love service game.

Playing at altitude in dry conditions certainly helped Milos hit through the court and run up the ace count. Nadal was right about the smurf clay courts being quicker and rewarding the big servers. The total ace count was 16, which is quite impressive for two sets on clay. What's more is that he didn't drop a single point when he landed his first serve in. Even though he was facing a great player in Nalbandian, this looked like a typical Raonic victory. He gave up no break point chances, and he was patient enough to wait for his opportunities to be aggressive. Raonic's serve was just impenetrable.

And his reward for a solid performance against a tough first round opponent? Raonic will have another crack at Roger Federer. Milos was able to take a set from Federer in a tiebreak at Indian Wells earlier this year, but ultimately lost the match. All these recent clay court wins over big players (Murray, Almagro, and Nalbandian) should give Raonic a tremendous amount of confidence heading into the match against Federer.

This will be a match to watch, folks. But you already knew that. One blogger is even predicting that Milos will win. It is certainly true that Federer hasn't played in a while and that he might be a little rusty starting out on the blue clay, and Raonic currently has all the smurf-claymentum on his side. It's kind of ironic considering how tall Milos is.

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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!

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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!

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