TENNIS ATP CINCINNATI – Federer took on Milos Raonic for a chance to get to his 4th Master Series 1000 finals of the season, second in a row. They last faced each other in the most recent Wimbledon semifinals where the Swiss won convincingly in straight sets. This time it would be no different, Federer was near perfect in his 6-2 6-3 victory over the Canadian in 68 minutes. Cordell Hackshaw
Roger Federer (2) may be the elderly statesman of the game at 33 years old, but he is having a stellar 2014 season that nearly all younger players on tour can only dream of having. Federer took on Milos Raonic (5) for a chance to get to his 4th Master Series 1000 finals of the season, second in a row. They last faced each other in the most recent Wimbledon semifinals where Federer won convincingly in straight sets to make his 9th Wimbledon final. This time it would be no different, Federer was near perfect in his 6-2 6-3 victory over the Canadian in 68 minutes. Raonic himself noted, “Roger’s been playing great this summer. He’s getting better and better with each match.”
Federer was flawless in the 1st set. Just as he did in their last match up, the Swiss found a way to break the formidable serve of Raonic in his opening service game for a 2-0 lead. Raonic found no reprieve on his return games as Federer did not drop a single point on serve the entire set. Raonic finally held serve for 1-3 but in the 8th game down 2-5, he was broken again to hand the set 6-2 to Federer in 27 minutes. Federer had 10 winners to 1 error compared to Raonic who had 7 winners to 8 errors. Raonic was only getting 52% of his 1st serves in and winning 29% behind his 2nd serve. This was not going to hold up against most players particularly a player like Federer. Federer later surmised, “I think because of maybe the problems I’ve caused him in the past he was pushing a bit too much on the serve or felt like he had to do something special.”
However, in the 2nd set, things got complicated for Federer. Raonic found his A-game and he began making inroads on the Federer’s serve. Federer was no longer enjoying easy holds as each service game was a near struggle to avoid the break. Raonic earned himself a break point in the third game of the set but Federer held for 2-1. Raonic’s serve was blasting in full effect as he was up 40-0 in the 8th game and looked to be near levelling the set at 4-4. However, Federer showed his experience and determination. Never one to let any return game go idly by, Federer began to get the returns in play. He diffused much of the Raonic’s pace with some slice returns, deft angles and a couple of bunt returns. The Canadian soon became befuddled and was unable to pull out a big serve to secure the game. Federer secured the crucial break for 5-3 and served it out for a 6-2 6-3 victory.
The tale of this match can only be summed up by the serve. Raonic’s serve was well off the mark, something even he admitted to after the match, “I served very poorly tonight, and that’s not going to get it done … I have to figure out how to step up against the top guys.” Raonic got only 44% of his 1st serves in play and won 68% of the points behind it. His 2nd serve, which has always been suspect, was only winning him 50% of the points. Federer on the other hand got 63% of his 1st serves in and won 88% of those points. His 2nd serve was not great at 53% but it was good enough as he was never broken in the match.
Federer later stated, “I’m just happy I was able to win the match tonight. I know that Milos can cause difficulties with his game. He’s very unpredictable and plays very much on his terms. So it was up to me to stay calm, and I was able to deliver. I’m really pleased.” Federer faces David Ferrer (6) for a chance at a 6th title here in Cincinnati. Although Federer has a 15-0 lifetime record against the Spaniard, his winning here might not be a foregone conclusion. In all three previous Master Series 1000 finals that Federer made this year, he faced opponents who he had the edge over in the head-to-head but yet he lost all three finals including in straight sets last week against Jo-Wilfried Tsonga.
