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

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.

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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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