Milos Raonic continued his quest for a maiden Grand Slam title with a 6-2, 6-4, 6-7(5), 7-6(1), win over Spanish world number 42 Fernando Verdasco in the second round of the US Open.
The Canadian settled quickly into the match as he broke his Spanish rival in the opening game. Raonic had the chance to open up a 3-0 lead, however, Verdasco battled back from a 0-40 deficit to get himself onto the scoreboard. Despite this, Verdasco came under pressure on his serve throughout the first set as he encountered a series of breakpoint’s in three out of his four service games. The speedy start by Raonic enabled him to take the first set after just 29 minutes.
In the second set Raonic encounter tougher resistance from Verdasco as the Spaniard’s winning first serve percentage increased from 50% in the first set to 81%. The match was going accordingly to serve until Raonic called for a medical time-out whilst leading 6-2,3-4. The on court trainer was called to treat an issue with his lower back. It was reported yesterday that the world number 10 cancelled his practice session due to his back. Despite the injury time-out, Raonic took control of the match as he broke Verdasco once again to cruise to a commanding two set lead.
Milos Raonic leads 6-2, 3-4 on Verdasco but asks for a MTO. Looks in pain. pic.twitter.com/vFylj28Uom
— José Morgado (@josemorgado) September 2, 2015
Raonic has lost to Verdasco three times in his career, but never on a hard-court. The Canadian was aware of the threat that his opponent posed as a third set tie-break loomed. Going into the match they have played five tie-breaks in their previous encounters with Raonic leading 4-1. The back was still causing trouble for the Canadian, which was starting to limit some of his movements. With this problem, Verdasco took advantage as he manoeuvred himself impressively on the court to take the third set and keep his hopes alive in the match.
Despite his back woes, Raonic service consistency was outstanding until the business end of the fourth set. He was given a golden opportunity to break for a 5-3 lead after Verdasco produced a double fault. He, however failed to convert as the score went to 4-4. The following game was the biggest test for Raonic’s serve as he defended four break points to edge ahead 5-4. Prior to that game, Raonic didn’t face a single break-point in his first 19 service games. Verdasco responded swiftly by holding his game to love as a second tie-break beckoned.
The final tie-break failed to reflect the closeness of the match as Raonic produced a whitewash performance with the help of some costly unforced errors by his Spanish rival. His aggressive play forced Verdasco to hit a forehand long as Raonic booked his place into the third round at Flushing Meadows for the fourth consecutive year.
In the third round Raonic will play another Spanish player, 18th seed Feliciano López. He has played him twice in 2015, both on a hard-court. The Canadian beat Lopez in five sets at the Austrailian Open but lost to him in straight sets in Cincinnatti.