Indian Wells, California
After an exciting first semi-final between Roger Federer and Borna Coric at Indian Wells which had several twists and turns through their three set affair, the second semi-final was anything but.
Juan Martin Del Potro won’t be complaining though as the World No. 8 needed just 65 minutes to defeat Milos Raonic 6-2 6-3 to advance to the Indian Wells Final on Sunday.
Raonic struggled from the start getting broken at Love in his second service game of the match. Two games later and three mistakes later including two volleys at the net, gave Del Potro a 4-1 lead. After a pair of aces and a crosscourt forehand winner, the Argentine captured the first set in just 27 minutes.
Del Potro kept his foot on the gas in the second set, breaking Raonic again in the third game. ESPN’s coverage in the United States was so unimpressed with the match they cut away to Roger Federer’s post match press conference early in the set. Upon return broadcaster Chris Fowler told the audience they hadn’t missed much and frankly explained “Raonic has been brutal.”
Harsh words and perhaps unfair considering the Canadian was working his way back from an injury depleted 2017 season and it was only his eighth competitive match of the year. Del Potro on the other hand was playing his 19th match of 2018 and was coming off a title in Acapulco two weeks ago.
The “gentle giant” didn’t need to do too much more to win Saturday’s match but did enough to get the job done. In the final game a backhand crosscourt winner, a powerful forehand deep into the corner and then a backhand into the net by Raonic sealed the deal.
Del Potro lost just three points on his first serve and never faced a break point in the match. On the other side Raonic won just 24 of his 45 points on serve and won a paltry 8 of 23 points at the net.
“It was surprising to see him serving not too hard, and I broke his serve very quick in both sets. That give me the control of the match,” said Del Potro who will move up to No. 6 when the new ATP World Rankings will be released on Monday. “I play a smart game, because the conditions were tough to play, but I did everything good. I served well. I took all my chances. It was an easier match than what I expect before.”
“He served well. He struck the ball well. I just didn’t do what I needed to do,” said Raonic. “There are a lot of things that were missing today.”
Del Potro will now face his rival Roger Federer in Sunday’s Final looking for his first title at Indian Wells. Federer has won the tournament five times. Federer leads their head-to-head meetings 18-6 including a win in the Final in Basel last year.
@Sportshorn
