Canada’s Milos Raonic beats American qualifier Jared Donaldson at Rogers Cup
Milos Raonic has warmed up to the same song at every match of the Rogers Cup - “My House” by Flo Rida. The song is already omnipresent at sporting events, but it especially reflects how Raonic wants to play at the ATP Tour event in his hometown, dominating every set and showing a new-found mastery of the hardcourt.
The Canadian easily dispatched American qualifier Jared Donaldson 6-2, 6-3 on Thursday night in the third round of the Rogers Cup. Raonic will play France’s Gael Monfils on centre court at York University’s Aviva Centre in the quarter-finals on Friday.
“I’m taking care of my own things, creating some opportunities. And, you know, I’m going for the shots,” said Raonic on his aggressive play. “I’m taking time away from the other guy, making the guy, from what I can tell, the other side of the net, uncomfortable, not giving him too much rhythm.”
Raonic, from nearby Thornhill, Ont., established his dominance over Donaldson from the very first serve, hitting 235 km/h on the radar gun. He fired four aces to earn his first game and won the set with a slicing backhand volley at the net, pumping his fist as the crowd roared its approval.
In all, Raonic had 15 aces to Donaldson’s three.
“It’s that way always,” said Raonic of his serve. “And just because I saw that he was going to return from close, I went a little bit harder into the body just to try to make him think about it, hopefully make him step back to open up the angles for myself more.”
Raonic’s evolving close-range game was on display in the second set. He charged the net looking for a volley after a serve, but pulled his racket out of the way of Donaldson’s return - to the stunned gasps of his fans - to let the ball sail just out of bounds.
“The only motivation for me was to improve what I need to improve to win,” said Raonic of developing his accuracy on returns. “It was never for anybody else’s opinion and these kind of things. It was to work on these things that I believe could help me win. Obviously the return has been a big part of it.