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Milos Raonic first Canadian man to reach the Australian Open singles semi-finals after a four-set win over Gaël Monfils
MELBOURNE, Australia – In his fourth-round match, Milos Raonic defeated Stan Wawrinka with an all-out net attack.
In the Australian Open quarterfinals Wednesday night, he defeated Gaël Monfils … with his groundstrokes.
Different opponent, different tactics – both wildly successful as the 25-year-old defeated the flamboyant Frenchman 6-3, 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 to become the first Canadian man in history to reach the Australian Open semi-finals.
He will face No. 2 seed Andy Murray of Great Britain Friday night (3:30 a.m. EST back home).
“I felt good, you know, especially that I took care of the things I need to take care of. I was dictating, I felt, most of the time. I was hitting my shots well. I was quite efficient off the baseline. When I had the chance, I came forward. Closed shots off there,” he said. “Maybe a little bit passive in the second set, but in the third I sort of turned that around for the better. Could have been a little bit maybe more forthcoming in the fourth (set) as well, but I have to be happy with the way I dealt with things, how I played, and how I backed up my performance from two days ago.”
The match was a hard one to pin down in the hours leading up to it. It could have been a dramatic five-setter in which Monfils – the ultimate showman – lit up the Rod Laver crowd with his spectacular shotmaking and took a good portion of the crowd’s support with him despite a good Canadian presence.
It could have been a dismissive effort, with Monfils not up to it and Raonic’s serve doing all the damage.
In the end, it was a combination of a few things.
Monfils never did light it up, as only he can; he was sombre, serious, focused and workmanlike. But on his end, Raonic took the crowd right out of it with a varied, high-octane serving attack that had his French opponent either guessing at direction, or trying to duck out of the way of a 225 km/hour body serve headed right for his ribcage.
Given that advantage, the Canadian hit his forehand impressively and, perhaps more surprisingly, his backhand as well.
“It was very frustrating because just one break in each set. I feel that I was a little bit maybe over-rushing sometimes my serve, my second serve. Should maybe serve half-speed, and (get) the first serve (in) to put the ball in a good placement to have a chance to play at the baseline,” Monfils said. “He played good. Very aggressive. But it was not a bad match from me.”
The first three sets were wildly different from each other. In the first set, Raonic fired six aces but there was only one break-point chance between the two of them, and he took it. He was just 8-for-13 at the net.
In the second set, Monfils picked up his level and Raonic retreated behind the baseline a little too much; Monfils had three times as many winners as the Canadian, and half the errors. Still, Raonic had more break-point chances – three, and couldn’t convert any. Monfils had one, and made it.
In the third set, Raonic went back on the attack. He had 17 winners, and went 14-for-19 at the net – but had just one ace. After that, it felt as though it was a matter of time. It was close, but not that close.
In the end, Monfils out-aced Raonic 14 to 10. But if you factor in all the serves the Canadian hit that were not only unreturnable, but downright filthy – including second serves – the overall effectiveness was one-sided. Raonic won 62 per cent of his second serves.
Monfils was just as impressed with the rest of Raonic’s game.
“I think he’s returning much better. He's playing a bit faster from the baseline. Yeah, I think the main improvement is his return. His returns are way better than before,” Monfils said. “He strikes the ball heavy with (his) forehand, but I would say now his backhand getting much better. So he's a tougher player now.”
Raonic said improved movement was the biggest factor in that upgrade. “Because I'm getting to the ball in better position, it's easier. I don't feel like I'm getting hustled around the court that much. I feel like I can find my way back. I don't have to go for big shots on the run. I can sort of neutralize a little bit better,” he said. “But at the end of the day, as well as I do that, that's never going to be what wins me matches. It's about doing what I can to get ahead in points and be the aggressor and take it to my opponents.”
Monfils played a very clean match – 36 winners to just 17 unforced errors, while Raonic had 47 winners and 36 unforced. And in the end, it never felt all that close.
Each set took barely over a half-hour; Raonic needed just two hours and 18 minutes to get the job done, with nearly two full days off before he takes on Murray, who defeated David Ferrer of Spain in a far more gruelling match played in the late afternoon.
Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic will play the other singles semi-final Thursday night.