Raonic Fights Through Del Potro In Delray Beach

Top seed Milos Raonic prevailed in the match tennis fans wanted to see this week, saving a set point to defeat seventh seed Juan Martin del Potro 6-3, 7-6(6) on Saturday and reach the Delray Beach Open final. 

Raonic moves into his 20th tour-level final in his Delray Beach debut and improves his FedEx ATP Head2Head against del Potro to 2-1. The World No. 4 also boosts his 2017 record to 10-2 in reaching his first ATP World Tour final of the season.

“You want to stay away from his forehand because he’s very dangerous from there. It was about taking time away from him and trying to get him on the backhand side,” said Raonic. “He stepped up on some of the big points toward the end and you know he’s able to do that because he’s achieved fantastic things in tennis. I was fortunate to get through that tie-break.” 

The Canadian will face third seed Jack Sock for the title, who prevailed earlier in the day 6-4, 7-6(2) over Donald Young. Raonic leads his rivalry against Sock 8-2, but the American won their most recent match this past October at the Shanghai Rolex Masters.

“We’ve played a lot of times. I’ve been quite successful against him, but he got me the last time we played. It’s always been close,” said Raonic. “It’s a match you have to fight through. You know it’s going be tough, so it’s important to stay disciplined and keep a positive attitude.”

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Raonic maintained control throughout the first set against del Potro, dropping just four points on serve and using his forehand to apply pressure in his return games. The top seed gained the lone break of the set at 3-2 and held the advantage the rest of the way. The 2011 Delray Beach champion fought valiantly to erase four set points on his serve down 2-5, but Raonic calmly responded by firing an ace on his fifth set point.

Both players traded service holds throughout the second set until 5-5, when a pair of baseline winners from Raonic gave him the break and a chance to serve out the match. But del Potro wouldn’t go away quietly, finally earning his first break point and lacing a backhand passing shot to force a tie-break.

The top seed led by a mini-break at 5/4, but gave away the lead with a double fault and forehand unforced error. Del Potro served for the set at 6/5, but Raonic cracked a backhand return to even the score. A forehand error from the Argentine gave Raonic his first match point at 7/6 and the Canadian hit his 17^th ace of the night to advance in one hour and 46 minutes.

Despite the loss, del Potro said he was satisfied with how his body responded to four difficult matches in his first tournament of the season.

“I finished this tournament in good shape. When I played here last year, I pulled out of Acapulco,” said del Potro. “I think my game can keep improving a lot. I played with less than 50 per cent of my backhand tonight. If you’re not 100 per cent against the top guys, it’s difficult to win. I have to keep working hard to improve that.”

Sock continued his dominance over Young, boosting his record against his fellow American to 3-0 in reaching his seventh ATP World Tour singles final. The Nebraska native is 10-1 this season, having lifted the trophy last month at the ASB Classic (d. Sousa) and recorded a third-round finish at the Australian Open.

“No one’s going away in the semi-finals of a tournament. It definitely could have gone either way in the first set,” said Sock. “He’s a tricky player in that he makes you play a lot of balls and can wear you down, but also has great hands at the net when he comes forward. You never totally know what you’re going to get, so I was just fortunate to come through in two sets.”

Sock and Young dropped their opening service games, but Sock quickly regained his footing. The third seed broke Young once more at 3-3 and remained dominant on serve, dropping two points in four service games to grab the early lead.

There were no breaks in the second set, but Young was made to work hard in most of his service games while Sock held comfortably. It appeared the match might head to a decider after Young laced a forehand winner to take a 2/0 lead in the tie-break, but the momentum was short-lived. Sock used his trademark serve and forehand to go on a seven-point run and advance in one hour and 32 minutes.

“I’m definitely playing with a lot of confidence this year. I started out the season with a title, which is the most ideal situation and gives you confidence for the rest of the tournaments,” said Sock. “I feel strong mentally and physically, and like I have a clear game plan for what I’m doing out there.”

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DOUBLES

Second seeds Raven Klaasen and Rajeev Ram moved into the final after defeating Jonathan Erlich and Scott Lipsky, 6-3, 3-6, 10-1. They’ll play third seeds Treat Huey and Max Mirnyi, who defeated Yen-Hsun Lu and Leander Paes 6-2, 6-1.