Raonic All Business Down Under
Raonic All Business Down Under
Milos Raonic submitted another business-like performance on Friday at the Australian Open, sending Luxembourg’s Gilles Muller home after a 6-3, 6-4, 7-6(4) second-round win. The third-seeded Canadian struck 21 aces and limited the big-serving Muller’s count to seven.
Raonic also saved all four break points faced and broke Muller just enough – once in each of the first two sets. The third-seeded Raonic had been 0-2 against Muller in their FedEx ATP Head2Head series, although the two hadn’t played since 2012. Muller also entered the Australian Open off his best result ever: His first ATP World Tour title at the Apia International Sydney last weekend.
But Raonic needed less than two hours to reach the third round, where he’ll face Frenchman Gilles Simon. The 25th seed needed only 96 minutes to beat Brazil’s Rogerio Dutra Silva 6-4, 6-1, 6-1.
Fifteenth seed Grigor Dimitrov recovered from a set deficit to beat #NextGenATP player Hyeon Chung of South Korea 1-6, 6-4, 6-4, 6-4. Chung, who missed three months last season because of an ab injury, looked fit as he chased balls from side to side, answering everything Dimitrov slapped his way during the first set. Dimitrov hit only three winners to 14 unforced errors in the opener.
Watch Now: Train With Dimitrov, Part One
But the Bulgarian ripped away momentum with a break to start the second set, and improved play followed. Last week’s Brisbane champion won 13/15 net points during the next two sets and broke twice in the fourth set to advance in two hours and 34 minutes.
In the third round, Dimitrov will meet 18th seed Richard Gasquet, who had little trouble beating Argentine Carlos Berlocq 6-1, 6-1, 6-1. The Frenchman has won five of his six FedEx ATP Head2Head meetings against Dimitrov, but Dimitrov won their last meeting, 6-4, 6-4 on the Shanghai Rolex Masters hard courts last October.
Watch Now: Pushing The Limits With Dimitrov, Part Two