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Milos Raonic can’t defeat Novak Djokovic, but gets a great consolation prize for the French Open
It was awfully close – so close, the sound of the stampede of former detractors suddenly leaping aboard the Milos Raonic bandwagon was deafening.
In the end, though, the 23-year-old Canadian didn't have quite enough to defeat world No. 2 Novak Djokovic at the Italian Open in Rome Saturday, falling 6-7 (5), 7-6 (4), 6-3 to end
his run at the top-level ATP Tour event in the semifinals.
But Raonic had a lot. And his effort opened up a lot of eyes among those critics who have long dismissed him as a serving machine without much of a game to back it up.
"He played at a high level, especially on his serve, and I cannot recall the last time when I felt so helpless in the return games. I couldn't really read his serve," Djokovic told the media in Rome.
Later in the evening, once Raonic contemporary Grigor Dimitrov of Bulgaria had been soundly beaten by Rafael Nadal in the other men's semifinal, it was official: Raonic's effort this week will make him the No. 9 player in the world when the new rankings are released Monday. And because of the injury absence of Juan Martin del Potro, he will be the No. 8 seed at the upcoming French Open.
It's a huge opportunity. In a 128-player draw with 32 seeds – assuming all the seeded players make it through – the top eight seeds are randomly drawn to face an opponent seeded No. 25 through No. 32 – the lowest seeds – in the third round. In the next round, seeds No. 1 through No. 8 draw an opponent seeded No. 9 through No. 16.
Being No. 8 (rather than No. 9 or No. 10) means, assuming Raonic gets there, that he wouldn't have to face the likes of Djokovic, Nadal, Stan Wawrinka or Roger Federer until the quarter-final round.
Even if it came about as a result of another player's defeat, it's hard to argue Raonic doesn't deserve it, especially after his three-hour effort Saturday.
It's always been a little simplistic, that "serve-bot" label; people tend to be most distracted by the biggest, shiniest objects. And in Raonic's game, that's most definitely the serve. But monthly, weekly, with the help of the duo of coach Ivan Ljubicic and his mentor, Ricardo Piatti, Raonic is adding pieces. He's shoring up weaknesses and putting into practice elements that might not be perfected yet, but could be down the road once he puts in the repetitions.
"He did surprise me with his movement," Djokovic added. "He is moving really well and has improved his backhand down the line, especially. He comes to the net and has improved his variety."
For most of the three hours he was on the court Saturday, Raonic played a little above himself. Djokovic, conversely, played a little below his very best. That's what must happen for a match between a player trying to reach his 29th Masters 1000 level tournament final, and a player trying to get to his second, to be competitive. But it also tells you Raonic is getting closer to matching that elite level.
The Serb clearly was frustrated by the pace and effectiveness of Raonic's serve. But he was equally challenged by Raonic's ability to stay in many baseline rallies and the fact that, at times, his weaker backhand side was very, very solid.
Broken early in the second set after winning the first in a tiebreak, Raonic broke right back with the help of a sweet little backhand drop shot. And in that second-set tiebreak, he had a chance to close it out in straight sets – but for an inconveniently-timed gust of wind that seemed to turn everything around.
Raonic had just earned a mini-break in the tiebreak, serving at 3-2, when he went for his patented inside-out forehand. Right then, a big gust – not unusual earlier in the tournament when red clay was flying all over the place, but more rare on Saturday – carried the shot wide. One tough bounce and three or Raonic unforced errors later, Djokovic had pulled out the set and acted for all the world as though he'd won the lottery.
Djokovic broke in the first game of the third set. And the rest was more or less a formality.
“I did the things I wanted to do. I didn't execute in the moments I’d liked, but I did create a lot of opportunities, which was good. I wish I had played a few situations a little differently. I think I had the right approach," Raonic said. “I knew if I brought my best tennis, I would be able to give myself an opportunity, which I was able to do today. It came down to a few moments and he just performed better than I did.”
Against the top players, you often only get one or two opportunities, and in the end Raonic was a little unlucky. Champions, on the other hand, are often extraordinarily lucky. And that's the level the young Canadian is aiming for, in the rapidly-approaching near future.
It will start with the French Open, where the No. 8 seed will look to build on what, so far, has been an eye-opening clay-court season.
NOTE: There was more good Canadian news in the doubles where, for the second time in less than a week, Toronto's Daniel Nestor and partner Nenad Zimonjic of Serbia upset the No. 1 Bryan brothers, in the doubles semifinal.
Nestor and Zimonjic prevailed 7-6 (3), 4-6, [12-10] and will meet the unseeded team of Robin Haase of the Netherlands and Feliciano Lopez of Spain in the final.
