Pospisil claims Canadian clash
Vernon native knocks off Raonic during U.S. Open second round
NEW YORK — After a big run last week at the same U.S. Open venue, Milos Raonic’s hopes of doing the same thing at the actual Grand Slam were dashed by a fellow Canadian.
Vernon’s Vasek Pospisil upset the No. 25 seed from Thornhill, Ont., 6-7 (1), 6-3, 7-6 (4), 6-3 in a second-round match, Thursday.
Raonic advanced to the final last week at the Western & Southern Open — moved to New York from Cincinnati because of COVID-19 — before losing to top-ranked Novak Djokovic in three sets.
“If you look at is a whole, I think there’s lot of good that comes from it,” Raonic said. “If somebody told me I was going to pick up 645 or whatever points it is at the start of it, I would have found that to be good news. Overall, a lot of positives to take. Obviously, today’s going to bug me for a bit. I’ve just got to see the whole thing as a bigger picture.”
Pospisil, ranked 93rd in the world, will play in the third round of the U.S. Open for the first time. He’ll face No. 8 seed Roberto Bautista Agut of Spain.
Raonic was 0-for-5 on break-point opportunities against his longtime Canadian rival. Both players were born in 1990.
“When he needed
Raonic said.
While Raonic is known for having one of the best serves in tennis, Pospisil was right there with him on Thursday. Both players won 82 per cent of points when they got their first serve in. Their lifetime record on the top tour is now 2-2.
Earlier, Canada’s Leylah Annie Fernandez lost 6-4, 6-3 to No. 2 seed Sofia Kenin of the United States in a second-round women’s match.
A 17-year-old left-hander from Laval, Que., Fernandez was disappointed with her performance against the world No. 4 and the 2020 Australian Open champ.
“She’s top five for a reason,” Fernandez said. “She puts a lot of balls back in and she played a great match today, but honestly I didn’t play well. I made too many mistakes.”
it, he stepped up every time,”