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

Raonic loses to Benneteau in Paris

Julien Benneteau (FRA) defeated Milos Raonic (CAN) in an epic three set match at the BNP Paribas Masters today, 6(5)-7 7-6(5) 6-4.

Benneteau was having to play more points on his serve compared to Raonic, but he only faced one break point during the opening set. Raonic was having a much easier time on serve ultimately resulting in the set being decided by a tiebreak. With Benneteau serving at 4-5, he made a costly error to give Raonic the mini-break advantage. Milos didn't mess around and closed out the set on his first chance to serve for it. The Canadian was nearly perfect on his first serve points won during the set, but only hit half as many aces as his opponent.

Raonic started the second set with a blistering service game, doubling his ace count from three to six. In his next service game, Milos took the lead in the ace race after hitting two in a row to comfortably hold serve. Benneteau got to deuce on Raonic's third service game but wasn't able to earn a break chance. Milos returned the favour in the next game, but again the server held without having to face a break point. Serving to stay in the set, Raonic opened the game with two more aces bringing the total to 13 for the match. However, Benneteau was able to take advantage of some miscues from Milos to get to deuce. Raonic regained his concentration and quickly served his way out of trouble to force another tiebreak. This time it would be Benneteau who got the first mini-break courtesy of an error from Raonic. After giving up another error, Milos came up with a great return of serve to get a mini-break back. But Raonic was still trailing with Benneteau serving at 6-5 and he wasn't able to get back on even terms. The French fans let out a huge roar when Raonic put a ball into the net, thus giving the tiebreak to Benneteau. This one was going the distance and all of the momentum was with Benneteau.

It was clear from the start that Raonic wasn't letting up on his serve. He hit four aces and didn't lose a single point during his first two service games of the third set. Unfortunately his third service game was a different story. Benneteau quickly found himself with a 0-40 lead and his first break points of the match. Raonic saved the first two, only to send a forehand long and surrender the first break of serve of the contest. Benneteau consolidated the break to take a 4-2 lead. If the previous two hours of match play were any indication, we would expect both players to continue to hold serve until Raonic ran out of opportunities to break. That's exactly what happened as Benneteau was just too solid on his serve and didn't afford Raonic any chances to get back into the match.

Since coming back from the hip surgery, Milos had not lost to a player ranked lower than him until today. With the loss to Benneteau, Raonic's season has come to an end. The first round upset is a bit of a disappointment, but full credit goes to Benneteau for playing a terrific match coming back from a set down. This match turned on a few key points, and Julien was able to come out on top of them more often than Milos. Both players were remarkably consistent on serve, but Benneteau raised his game at just the right time to get the break in the third set. This was just after Raonic had gotten to deuce on Benneteau's previous service game. It was an incredibly tense match that lasted over two hours and 20 minutes. Benneteau was the better player today, but not by much.

Better luck next year, Milos. I can't wait for the 2012 season! Of course, there are still the tour finals in London and the Davis Cup final later this month but we've seen the last of Raonic on the ATP tour for the year. It certainly has been a great season stretching all the way back to the Round of 16 result at the Australian Open, and we look forward to following Milos in the new year.

Cheers!

-multi

Cilic knocks Raonic out of Valencia

Marin Cilic defeated Milos Raonic at the Valencia Open today in straight sets, 6-4 6-4.

One break of serve per set was all Cilic needed to pull off the win today. Cilic was in control for the majority of the match and was rarely challenged on his serve. Raonic was only able to earn a single break point in the first set, which he couldn't convert. Cilic would convert one his five chances early in the second to stay in the lead and deny Raonic any openings. Milos put up a fight with Cilic serving for the match, but he wasn't able to extend it.

Raonic had a difficult time working his way into the Cilic serve despite the Croat's low first serve percentage. Perhaps the most important stat of the match is the amount of second serve points Milos won, which was 38% for the match and a disappointingly low 18% for the second set. This indicates that Raonic couldn't get comfortable on his serve and had to focus most of his energy on keeping Cilic at bay. He was fighting a losing battle, but did well to keep the match as close as it was. Cilic was coming into the Valencia tournament riding a five match winning streak after the victory in St. Petersburg. That momentum was too much for Raonic to handle today.

Next up for Milos is the ATP Masters 1000 event in Paris which gets underway next week. All the top players will be there as it is the final ATP 1000 event of the year, and for most it'll be the last tournament of the season.

-multi

Raonic loses to Monfils in Stockholm

Gael Monfils (FRA) came back from a set down to defeat Milos Raonic in the semi-finals at the If Stockholm Open, 6(6)-7 6-4 6-3.

Monfils was a little inconsistent in his second service game, which allowed Raonic to earn a couple of break points. But Monfils came up with some clutch serves to hold on and keep from falling behind early. The backhand from Raonic was looking good to start the match, both from the baseline and at the net. After double faulting and making a few loose errors, Raonic found himself down 14-40 to Monfils at 3-3. As we so often see, Milos relied on a few big serves and forehands to get to deuce. He would have to save another break point before getting out of that tough service game. In his usual style, Monfils was covering the court with reckless abandon and went to the ground on two occasions. This match was certainly living up to the expectations. At five games all, Monfils would open up a 0-30 lead on Raonic's serve, but Milos kept his cool and ran off four straight points to put the pressure back on his opponent. On set point in the tiebreak, Milos let a shot go that he could easily have put away. Instead, the ball landed on the baseline and gave a mini-break back to Monfils. But all was not lost as Raonic soon got the error from Monfils to win the tiebreak 8-6.

Monfils was clearly a little rattled after losing the tiebreak, and ended up dropping serve for the first time in the match early in the second. He would have  a chance to break back in the next game, but Raonic produced a timely serve and volley play to save break point. Despite his frustrations, Monfils wasn't going away. Raonic couldn't capitalize on the opportunity to go up a double break, and soon got broken himself after missing an easy one down the line. Monfils was fired up when he won his fourth game in a row, breaking Raonic again to take the second set. The free points on serve just weren't there for Raonic, so he wasn't able to be as dominant as he had been in previous matches. The aces were rare and the first serve percentage was barely above 50 for the second set. Throw in a few errors and you can't expect to hold serve against a Top 10 player like Monfils.

Raonic seemed to settle down at the beginning of the third set. His serve was looking steadier and he wasn't overhitting his shots as much (which is what I think got him into trouble midway through the second set). Monfils was solid as well, looking more confident as the final set progressed. Milos would have another less than stellar service game and was broken when he didn't put some points away when he had the chance. Monfils backed up the break with a hold at love, and everything seemed to be going his way since the latter stages of the second set. Raonic would at least make Monfils serve it out, which he did without too much trouble.

This match was very winnable from Raonic's standpoint. For a three set match, 9 aces for Milos is a little lower than we might have expected (and hoped for). More free points off the serve certainly would have made things easier for Raonic, especially in the second set. But Monfils is not the kind of player to give up those points without a fight. Raonic was certainly able to stay in front of Monfils without running up the ace count during the first half of the match, but Gael's athleticism and overall experience would eventually turn the tide in his favour. I can't help but think of the missed opportunity with Monfils serving at 2-4. Raonic opened up the 15-30 lead and had Monfils on the ropes at the net. But when it looked like Milos had a relatively easy shot to get two break points, he completely overhit a forehand and sent it well wide. That's when Monfils won four straight games to force a third set. From there, it was hard not to like Gael's chances in the deciding set.

It was an impressive comeback by Monfils, to be sure. It's just a bit of a disappointment for us fans because it looked like Raonic had things all wrapped up before paying the price for letting Monfils back in the match late in the second set. It was a great run to the semis for Milos though, which more than makes up for the early exits we saw in the last couple of tournaments.

-multi