Milos Raonic has become the first Canadian since Greg Rusedski in 1995 to win an ATP Tour final after defeating top seed and defending champion Fernando Verdasco in a tight contest 7-6, 7-6 at the SAP Open in San Jose.
The matchup between the two was expected to be decided on Raonic's ability to continue putting down his powerful serves. With the Verdasco rally game looking increasingly dangerous throughout the week, it was a must.
The match was dominated by both the usual strong serves from both men and very short points, brought about by the Canadian's attempts to keep rally length to a minimum.
Even rallies, however, were hard to come by, with Raonic and Verdasco thundering down first serves usually completed with a 1-2 punch. As a result, there was not a single break of serve in the opening set, and a tiebreak was needed.
Verdasco appeared to have Raonic's measure, going up 6-2 in the tiebreak, and looking put his authority over the younger player.
However, a combination of determined serving and confident groundstrokes saw Raonic take the following six points to win what looked to be a lost cause.
The second set was almost a copy of the first, but with a rejuvenated Spaniard holding his service games a touch more comfortably than his opponent. By the end of the match, Verdasco would have won five more points in the match than his opponent.
But resistance didn't break down from Raonic. The Canadian was forced to save the sole break point of the match a four all, with a Verdasco error off yet another strong serve prompting a hint of frustration from the Spaniard.
Raonic only won half of his second serve points (6/12) throughout the set compared to the sole point of Verdasco (10/11), but his first serve percentage held strong.
Once more, no break was found and a tiebreak followed.
At 3-2, with his opponent serving, Raonic defended and defended until he found the right moment to pounce on a short Verdasco ball - taking a mini-break to push ahead 4-2 in the second set tiebreak. He didn't look back.
The match ended on a slightly controversial note with a fan yelling out as Verdasco attempted to return a wide Raonic first serve, but ultimately, the better player had won the match.
Raonic's high-risk style of play, while keeping just a touch more composed than his more experienced opponent, was good enough to see him the title.
A clearly flustered Spaniard put away his anger as he praised the work done by his opponent. "I saw him play in Australia," he said, minutes after putting the final shot into the net, "I saw the potential that he had."
When asked what the difference was in the match, the defending champ cut to the chase: "Serve."
A jubilant Raonic accepted his trophy along with 250 ATP Tour points, already on a run of fantastic form after making the fourth-round of the Australian Open in January.
"It's been a quick month and a half, but it's been a good month and a half. This is what I've always dreamed of. Thank you everybody."
The SAP Open was also the first ATP Tour title for 2011 Australian Open finalist Andy Murray back in 2006. There's a good chance that we could be witnessing the rise of a player with just as much talent, with his potential already on full display along with his great personality.
No comments:
Post a Comment