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In a historic all-Canadian final in D.C., Milos Raonic prevails over Vasek Pospisil
It was the first time two Canadian players had met in the final of an ATP Tour event in the Open era (since 1968). And the Canadian flags were an American dime a dozen in Washington, D.C. Sunday afternoon.
Milos Raonic, the No. 2 seed, defeated No. 13 seed Vasek Pospisil 6-1, 6-4 in just over an hour, in a match that only really got going for part of the second set. He said he felt happiness and relief, both, after the victory.
"The way I started, I couldn’t have asked for more. I dad a chance to break in every single game in that first set and continued to play solid after that. All in all a very good performance," Raonic told the D.C. media.
Raonic is the younger of the two by six months. But it was Raonic's 11th career ATP Tour final. It was Pospisil's first. It was Raonic's first title above the 250 level, which is the lowest tier of the ATP Tour.
The D.C. tournament is a 500-level event; to put it in terms of computer ranking points, the title was worth slightly less (500 points) to Raonic than his victory over Pospisil in that memorable Rogers Cup semi-final in Montreal last year. That one earned him 600 points for reaching the final at the Masters 1000 level.
"I’ve always said hard courts is by far my favourite and having done as well as I did on clay and grass, it got me really excited about this. For that to be showing right away in the first week was great," Raonic said. "I think I’m playing at a high level. The (ranking) number I have beside my name is a not a coincidence, and I don’t think it would be a coincidence if it were to get lower."
That won't take long. Currently ranked No. 7, Raonic will find himself at No. 6 when the new ATP Tour rankings are released Monday. That will tie his career best, reached right after his semi-final effort at Wimbledon last month.
You can see Raonic's Citi Open post-match press conference here.
Raonic was just too composed, and played at an extremely high level. He had only nine aces, but lost just one point on his first serve in the first set, and one in the second set. He also had 23 winners – nearly twice as many winners as errors – and was 6-for-8 at the net.
Pospisil had to wrap up a tough quarter-final against Santiago Giraldo of Colombia Saturday afternoon before playing a long three-set match against No. 6 seed Richard Gasquet of France in the semi-final that night. Perhaps as a result, he started rather sluggishly. It gave Raonic an opportunity to get off to a flying start, and that was all he needed.
"I wasn’t nervous about playing the final or anything like that. It was a combination of him playing very well and me being a bit heavy-legged, ran out a little bit of gas maybe. Credit to him, he played really well," Pospisil told the media in D.C.
You can watch Pospisil's press conference here:
Pospisil won just one of his 10 second-serve points in that first set.
"I guess I wasn’t expecting him to return as well, as quickly as he did, because that’s usually – maybe that’s part of his game that can have some improving. But today it didn’t show at all. Today he came out firing. I made 66% first serves in the first set and I felt like every return came back just as fast as my serve. Being a bit sluggish and not light on my feet, it wasn’t a great combination in the first set," Pospisil said.
"With the return and the groundstrokes, I thought he was playing the best he’s played from the baseline (against me) in that first set. But it’s so connected, Because once I started feeling a bit lighter, a bit more energy in the second set, suddenly I was serving a bit better and he wasn’t returning as well. And suddenly things started to get a bit interesting."
In the end, Pospisil went inside-out with his forehand to Raonic's backhand one too many times. On match point, Raonic picked it. He was waiting for it. He passed Pospisil at the net with a sweet cross-court backhand.
The historic Canadian sporting moment was commemorated before the start of the match, when a Canadian flag was added to the standard pre-final photograph of the two players.
The players themselves said they didn't really focus on it. It's hardly the first time they have met; that dramatic Rogers Cup semi-final last year was the latest, and the first time at the ATP Tour level. But the two played four times before that on the Futures and Challenger circuits – three of them won by Pospisil.
The very first meeting came in the final of the Canadian under-14 championship a decade ago.
"He wasn’t serving the way he is now. But then he had a growth spurt and when he was 15 16 he was serving incredibly well for such a young kid. Back then it was pretty obvious that if he could get his groundstroke game together he could be a great player some day. Seems like he ‘s serving better and better every year," said Pospisil, who said he remembered the score – 7-6, 6-4 – because it was his first national title.
The match ended with somewhat of a chill on the stadium court. The two are completely civil to each other, but they completely different personalities and are not bosom buddies, although they did – somewhat historically – practice together at Wimbledon before the tournament began.
This time, the winner reached out to the runner-up with the "Tough match, bad luck, but it was a great week and congratulations" type of conciliatory thing winners tend to do. But the runner up – clearly furious with himself for his slow start and the ultimate outcome – was having none of it.
It was awkward.
The media in D.C. didn't bring it up at either press conference, so not much more to say about that one.
Pospisil was asked by a reporter who thought Raonic's movement had improved since the two met in Montreal last year whether he agreed with that assessment. The 24-year-old thought about it a moment, and, tight-lipped, said he didn't. "No, I wouldn’t say that. Not really too many crazy long points today to see that," he said.
It's never a bad thing to have a rivalry with a little bite to it, although this one has not developed to that point yet, because Raonic remains the superior player.
The two now head to Toronto – Raonic for the first time in a little over a week and Pospisil for the first time in two years, since the last time the men's edition was played there.
Raonic, the No. 6 seed, has a first-round bye and expects to play Wednesday. Pospisil, unseeded, faces No. 12 seed Richard Gasquet – again (they meet in doubles, as well) in a match that should take place Tuesday.
(All quotes from the Citi Open's press confernce video. TSN also spoke to both players after the match. Raonic can be found here; Pospisil here).
