Raonic Back In Brisbane Final
Raonic Back In Brisbane Final
No. 4 seed downs Tomic 7-6(5), 7-6(5) for return trip to title match
Milos Raonic is into the Brisbane International final for the second straight year. On a muggy Saturday afternoon at Pat Rafter Arena, the No. 4 seed ousted No. 7 seeded Australian Bernard Tomic 7-6(5), 7-6(5) to book a return trip to the title match.
“It was a great match today, a difficult one against Bernie,” said Raonic. “He’s been playing so well, and I know he’s going to do great things this year. I’m happy with the way I’ve been able to start the year. I’m happy with the way things are progressing.”
The 6-foot-5 Canadian dug himself out of a 0-40 hole to hold for 3-2, and went on to take the evenly played first set in a tie-break, edging the home country favourite in winners 24-16.
Tomic came into the semis boasting a tournament-best 41 aces. But it was Raonic who was the bigger server on Saturday, out-acing the 23-year-old 13-10. His 12th ace of the night sent the second set into a tie-break, where he raced out to a 5-1 advantage. Tomic reeled off four straight points to level the stanza before Raonic capped the win with a nifty spin volley at the net.
Raonic is now 2-0 against Tomic, having won their first FedEx ATP Head2Head encounter in Tokyo in 2014.
Roger Federer defeated Raonic in last year’s title match, which served as the Swiss’ 1,000th victory on the ATP World Tour.
In doubles action, No. 2 seeds Henri Kontinen/John Peers combined for 10 aces and 28 winners in defeating No. 4 seeds Dominic Inglot/Robert Lindstedt 6-4, 6-3 to reach Sunday’s final, where they’ll face the Australian duo of James Duckworth/Chris Guccione. Duckworth/Guccione advanced via walkover over Kei Nishikori and Grigor Dimitrov, a late withdrawal due to shoulder soreness.