Bittersweet 16 is as far as Milos Raonic gets at 2013 U.S. Open

Labour Day it was. For nearly five hours Monday night, Canadian Milos Raonic and France's Richard Gasquet toiled on Court 17 in Flushing Meadows. Each had something to prove and much to gain with a victory in the round of 16.

For the 10th-seeded Raonic, it was a chance to make a great leap forward in his young and promising career by qualifying for his first quarter-final at a Grand Slam.

Gasquet, 27, who is five years older than Raonic and two spots ahead of him in the world rankings at No. 9, had an opportunity to show he was not going to be unseated, not just yet. Moreover, he had never made it past the fourth round at a Grand Slam except in 2007 when he reached the semi-final at Wimbledon.

In the end, it was the veteran who had more tools - from his trademark backhand to his ability to make a tough winner, especially in the late stages - and prevailed with finesse over power (Raonic had 39 Aces) in a gruelling, epic five-set match, 6-7 (4), 7-6 (7), 2-6,7-6 (11), 7-5.

After breaking Gasquet twice in the third set en route to 6-2 victory, it seemed that the Thornhill, Ont., native would pull away but the Frenchman was able to show poise while his young adversary made mistakes at key times.

In the pivotal fourth set tie-break, Gasquet, down 8-7, was able to hold serve with Raonic playing for match point. With the score tied at 9, Raonic double-faulted and then on the fourth set point, sent a forehand into the net.

It was a sign of things to come. Raonic committed 30 of his 89 unforced errors in the 73-minute fifth set as he grew increasingly fatigued. Gasquet took the reins after going down 5-4, winning three games in a row for the victory.

It was a boisterous affair in the stands with Raonic seeming to have the edge in fan support. There was no commentary on the broadcast which was aired in Canada on TSN2. This may in part have contributed to more of the atmosphere coming through.

Chants of "Let's Go Milos!" were heard increasingly through the match while Gasquet was seen pumping up his supporters who returned the favour with calls of "Richard!, Richard!"

The feed was eventually switched to one with commentators for the final three games of the fifth set. As Sid Seixeiro from Sportsnet 590 The Fan pointed out in jest, just in time to see Raonic overtaken for the match.